


Awaken from the dust and soot

by yellowhalcyon



Series: Only The Deathless Will Outlive The Sith [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: ANGST IS COMING, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bearded Poe, Beating, Blow Jobs, Captain Phasma is a badass, Car Chases, Dancing, Dystopia, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gunshot Wounds, Hate Crimes, Interrogation, Kylo Ren being evil a.k.a canon Kylo Ren, Lightsaber Battles, M/M, Minor Character Death, Non Stormtrooper Finn, Past Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, Psychological Torture, Resistance, Singer Poe, Slow Burn, Stormpilot, You-man vs. Angst-man, poe and jess are just friends i swear, thou shall have smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2017-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 18:04:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 105,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6161935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellowhalcyon/pseuds/yellowhalcyon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poe, once a talented pilot, is now simply another struggling artist, performs wherever he can, with songs being the only way he can rebel against the dictating government of the First Order.</p><p> FN-2187 has spent his whole life within the system and within a factory campus, always a part of a crowd, always being just a number, always doubting what he’s actually working towards.</p><p> Rey is a homeless girl, abandoned long ago by a family that’s been forgotten, scavenging whatever she can to make ends meet and still hoping one day she’ll find a home to call her own.</p><p> Alone they are no one, but together they could bring about a new awakening.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Poe

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [my picture set](http://yellowhalcyon.tumblr.com/post/137250221599/dystopian-society-au-star-wars-trio-poe-once-a) (so don't worry I'm not stealing someone else's words)
> 
> Which was kinda inspired by this [gif](http://yellowhalcyon.tumblr.com/post/137165511174/mamalaz-modern-stormpilot-au-because-you)
> 
> Extras: [x](http://yellowhalcyon.tumblr.com/post/142867170904/awaken-from-the-dust-and-soot-dystopian) [x](http://yellowhalcyon.tumblr.com/post/156908052554/stormpilot-fic-awaken-from-the-dust-and-soot)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I haven't read any Jessika Pava before?

When Poe Dameron went to sleep at night, he dreamed of flying. More specifically, he dreamed of the freedom, one he gained while he was up in the air. One he had only ever gained _while_ up in the air, therefore it was unlikely he’d experience it again under his country’s current leadership. Having to take a backseat as he watched his nation being stolen by fascists, united under lies and then subdued with fear had been heartbreaking but it was his only way towards survival.

When the First Order rose to power over five years ago, Poe had been stripped of his piloting licence and had his beloved ship commandeered. Left to find another means of income in life, he’d become just another artist, entertaining the masses of brainwashed citizens. In such a place, life was tough and the pay was often very minimal.

However, life, at the moment, was heading up. His latest gig had landed him a flat – an actual flat, all to himself – in a factory complex. It would be shabby and small but it was a roof over his head nonetheless, and playing there would put food on the table. Poe didn’t ask for much these days, but this would be more than enough for now.

On the morning of the move, he got a taxi to the factory. He only had his bag and guitar with him, nowadays. That along with a grumpy tabby cat, who wasn’t all-too happy about the sudden upheaval of their previous home.

BB-8 nestled themselves in the corner of the taxi’s back seat, turned directly away from Poe and sulked the whole journey there.

Poe would have attempted to console them, but attaining the impression of a crazy man who talked to animals like they could perfectly understand him was not something he wanted on his first day at a new place. Instead he let them have their bitterness. It was only thing people could ever call their own these days anyway.

When they arrived at the factory, he had to snatch BB-8 up in his arms before the cat made a run for it down the street. _So it’s going to be that kind of sulk_ , he thought. The taxi man had been pre-paid, so once Poe’s stuff was out, the car darted away, not wasting a second of finding another customer to earn their much needed daily dough.

Poe stared up at the large front building, squinting in the sharp wind as he waited for something to happen. To be honest, he wasn’t quite sure for what.

Snow twirled and danced around the soaring dark buildings, then ascending higher, almost invisible against the white clouds above. Shivers ran up Poe’s back and he instinctively hunched his shoulders. Winter was on the brink by the end of the month, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still dastardly cold. Winter was strong here and it mixed flawlessly with the brick, iron, and soot of the city.

Deciding whatever it was, wasn’t worth the wait, Poe made his way hastily over to the main entrance. Unfortunately it didn’t appear to be much warmer inside. The guy at the front desk at least knew who he was, pulling up the various forms of registration, and most likely hidden insurance scams, on a datapad for Poe to look over briefly, then sign. After handing over the door key, he called a nearby factory worker to escort Poe to his new room and then quickly moved on to something else because, apparently, there were more important things to do than also assign someone to give Poe a tour of this unknown place.

He’d been right. The room was small and shabby. Jumping free of his arms, BB-8 bounded onto the tatty sofa and looked over at Poe with sharp hiss as if to say ‘I told you so.’

Poe sighed and responded with a croaking ‘I know, buddy.’ He ran a hand through his hair as he completed the rather _quick_ examination of their new home. The refresher room had been included, thankfully. Poe had dreaded getting to know his new neighbours as they gazed unabashed onto his nude body. There was a kitchen too, despite the entire flat being almost only one room, the bed being stationed in the corner of the living room. Poe thought of putting a sheet across the kitchen area to divide it out a bit, but the effort wouldn’t be worth the end result. The kitchen funnily enough contained a fridge. It was empty, unsurprising. However, what was surprising was the fact they thought he would be able to afford food that he could store.

The place was dead silent and that was a good sign. Meant Poe would get a good night sleep. He eyed BB-8 across the room, still on the sofa now cleaning their white and orange coat. Their last flat had been above a bar, which meant every morning Poe was awoken by the doorbell ding. Not many could afford to visit bars in this economy so it hadn’t dinged much after the first time, though.

‘It’s not so bad,’ Poe said slumping down on the sofa. It seemed comfy enough to sleep on, meaning it was in good enough condition for him. BB-8 came over to rub their head against Poe’s. Poe raised a hand and ran it over their back, ‘you talking to me again, pal?’

BB-8 simply meowed and then darted off to find their new bed.

Poe left them to it and spent the rest of the day getting to know his surroundings. He found the bar he was supposed to be playing in – the sole reason he was even here in the first place – after a solid twenty minutes of wondering around. The lights were out and the place was deserted but Poe managed to make out through the darkness a stage in corner. Hopefully a microphone would be provided since Poe didn’t own one himself.

In all honesty he was quite nervous about performing here tonight. Everyone knew what life in a factory house was really like. Despite the persistent lies and propaganda, people knew the truth. Industries stole people from their birth cribs and raised them to be mini money-making factories of their own, the second they could hold a knife and fork properly. Poe knew he was really here just to prevent them from rioting out of pure boredom.

What kind of people would be in his audience tonight? He sat on his tatty sofa in his new flat and wondered about this. Let his head fall over the back, stared up at the ceiling and wondered. Let his tired eyes close shut for just a second and wondered.

The next thing he knew BB-8 was meowing right into his ear and he realised he’d fallen asleep.

Rushing out of his flat in case he’d over slept, Poe found the lights to be on in the bar room this time and a young woman cleaning glasses behind the bar. She looked up at him unexpectedly and then, hands pausing in the mid-wipe of a glass, frowned for about half a minute before finally realising why he was even there.

‘You’re the new singer, right?’ she said, pointing in his direction.

'That would be me.’ Poe made his way over and took a seat, resting his guitar up on the bar surface top. The seat creaked defiantly under his weight. He reached a hand out towards her, ‘Poe Dameron.’

Shaking it firmly, the woman said, ‘Jessika Pava.’

Poe watched her place the glass she’d been cleaning under the bar. She was picking up a fresh one when he asked, ‘so, Jessika, what kind of audience can I expect tonight?’

‘Well that depends,’ she said. ‘Are you any good?’

‘I’m the best damn performer in the country,’ Poe declared to the empty room.

‘In that case, your audience should love you.’ Jessika finished this glass, put it away, and picked up another. ‘Our last singer was certainly _something_ but he didn’t have a shred of talent in him that’s for sure.’

‘Poor fella,’ Poe said, leaning forward. The surface top was splintering over almost every inch, so he made sure not to rest any bare skin down. A piece was sticking out just next his jacketed elbow, which he picked at casually with the other hand.

‘I saw you moving in this morning,’ Jessika said after awhile. Poe didn’t respond, only looked up at her expectantly. She gave him a look that was like a smile except it didn’t show on her mouth. ‘I’m just down the corridor from you. Room blue three. Feel free to drop by if you need any _help_.’

Narrowing his eyes, Poe should have recognised the sign almost immediately. It was the oldest one in the book but he hadn’t been in the business for a long time, to be fair.

The silence stretched out between them. Jessika still kept her defences on standby, as would anyone for rejection was far too common these days, until eventually Poe said, voice genuine, ‘thank you for the offer.’

Jessika simply raised her eyebrows at him and then disappeared off behind the door on her side of the bar, assumedly to let him think.

Figuring she would be gone for awhile, Poe walked over to the stage he’d seen on his first visit. He leapt up onto the raised platform and, hands on his hips, observed the bar from this angle. Poe was tuning his guitar from here, when Jessika eventually re-entered the room but he didn’t look up. He’d nicked a chair from one of the nearby tables and was yet to find a microphone anywhere in this place when Jessika came into view carrying a microphone and a dusty speaker.

‘Thought you might need these,’ she said.

Poe’s eyes widen and he darted from his chair so fast his guitar almost went flying. ‘You are a doll,’ he said, immediately popping the instrument down and taking the speaker off her hands. ‘You should have told me you were getting this. I could have helped carry some of it.’

She tilted her head to the side with a vexed expression. ‘I’m stronger than I look, Dameron.’

‘Oh I meant no offence, Pava.’ Hands full, Poe could only flick his wrists up in defence, flashing a cocky smile. The smile then softened as he placed the speaker down next to his chair and sat down beside it. ‘I was just wishing to be polite,’ he said and looked up towards her while he began to undo the wire around the back.

Jessika regarded him for a moment, face unreadable. Slowly a smile stretched across her lips. ‘I _like_ you,’ she said.

‘You’re pretty alright yourself,’ Poe said shrugging. Then he couldn’t help but smile back at her.

A comfortable silence settled between them and they continued to smile at each quite contently.

Finally, Jessika said, ‘I’ll leave you to set up. It’s better you get to know how things work on your own.’ She moved back to her business at the bar, but not before declaring a cheery, ‘good luck with tonight.’

Poe threw a two fingered salute in her direction as a thank you.

Several long minutes later and he partly wished she hadn’t suggested that idea of getting to know the technology by himself. It took lots of thought power to figure out where to plug in the speaker and then where to plug the microphone in the speaker and then where to switch on the speaker so it allowed for the microphone to actually work. Thankfully, no one showed up in that time, so only Jessika was there to observe his failures in modern electronics.

Occasionally Poe caught her staring; then she’d shake her head thoughtfully and walk off giggling to herself.

It was certain; her presence had made his first day significantly less stressful and unnerving.

So when it came to performing that night, Poe began on a high. The workers bustled into the bar in waves, obviously their shifts all ended on different times. None of them paid much attention to Poe, who played gently through the selection of songs his Mother had sung to him on a cold Winter nights such as this.

He locked eyes with Jessika a few times and, in those moments, it was like he was singing just for her. She seemed to enjoy the serenades, letting them last longer each time it happened.

Mid-way through the night and the bar had almost completely turned around. A substantial amount of the eyes in the room were on him, and the reason the others weren’t, greatly had something to do with the fact their owners were too drunk to watch.

Up until this point Poe hadn’t said a word outside of his songs. Sizing up his audience towards the end of his current song, he decided it was time to introduce himself and play _the song_.

‘Hi,’ he said to the crowd of bleached out faces. At some point Jessika had dimmed the lights of the bar and switched on one light specifically shining down on Poe. This meant that now he could only just about differentiate the figures of the workers sat around him. ‘For those of you who haven’t noticed already, I’m new here. My name is Poe and a long time ago I used to be a pilot. This next song is really old, so you’ve probably never heard of, but when I miss flying this is what I like to sing. So enjoy.’

Poe didn’t wait for any signs of a response or reaction. He strung his guitar out on one note to instantly wash away the leftover silence and then began to sing.

This song, which was _the song of Poe Dameron_ , was one he’d heard practically all his life. His Mother had sung it to him in the crib, she’d sung it when he was old enough to remember it now, and she’d sung when he was old enough to learn the song for himself. If perchance he became deaf one day, Poe was sure he’d still be able to perfectly play every chord and sing every rhyme nonetheless.

It didn’t require an accompanying instrument so Poe didn’t play his guitar at first. He simply positioned his mouth near the microphone and, eyes closed, let his voice engulf the room. When he reached the end of the first verse, Poe leant back in his chair and then began to play. The song’s lyrics spoke of a young boy who learned how to fly. His Mother had been a pilot as well, which was possibly why she had chosen to sing it to him. Keeping his eyes shut, he carried on calmly until the end of the song.

This meant, however, that when he opened them again at the end of the song, the single light shining down on him all of a sudden became blindingly bright. Poe squinted as his eyes adjusted and it took him a moment to realise that his audience was clapping. Poe quickly smiled politely. ‘Thank you,’ he said, nodding. ‘If it’s alright with you, I’m going to take a break now. Be back up in a couple of minutes.’ With that he swung his guitar over his shoulder and leaned across to switch off the speaker. Leaving his guitar by his chair, Poe walked down from the stage and over to Jessika by the bar.

She smiled when she noticed his approached and moved to join him in front of where he chose to sit down. ‘Well, Mr. Dameron, I definitely wouldn’t rather you be that guy.’

He looked up with frown, completely confused, ‘huh?’ Admittedly he’d been making sure not to lean on any splinters so maybe he had missed something.

Jessika dismissed that chain of thought with a wave of her hand. ‘It’s what the workers used to call the previous artist before you,’ she said. ‘ _That guy_.’

‘Really?’

‘It had something to do with the fact they never knew his name,’ Jessika said. ‘When things got bad for one of them, I used hear them say “I’d rather be that guy” as a way of making everyone understand because no one wanted to be that bad at singing, so it must have been something bad.’

‘Did he ever introduce himself, this _that guy_?’ On those words he used a funny voice that was as close to Jessika’s as he could mimic.

Laughing at him, she then thought for a second. ‘I’m not sure. It was better just to block him out all together, if I’m honest.’

‘That bad, huh?’ Poe said.

‘More like “that disappointing, huh?” for the workers, I mean. This bar is the only place they’re allowed to indulge in their freedom. So you can imagine how disillusioned they were to be entertained by… well, junk.’ Jessika then gently leaned in closer to Poe and said in a soft voice, ‘that’s the first time I’ve seen them clap, by the way. You should be proud of yourself.’

Smiling, Poe was just about to reply in an equally soft voice when a loud ping erupted through the room. The smile immediately left his face and he glanced around the room in blind panic. The room had fallen silent after the ping and all the workers had simultaneously stopped the chit chatter they had going before. Worried this was the factory’s way of telling him he wasn’t allowed to take breaks, he turned back to Jessika and _whispered_ , since he didn’t want to draw attention to himself, ‘that alarm isn’t for me, is it?’

Jessika’s expression changed to one of endearment. ‘No,’ she said, whispering too. ‘That’s curfew, means everyone has to head to bed now.’

Poe exhaled slightly before remembering what he’d just said about coming back shortly from a break. Still whispering, he said, ‘Well I guess that turns my break into the end of the show then.’ He turned to watch the workers start to silently file out of the room.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ Jessika said, her voice more level because the room was practically empty now. She began to collect the discarded glasses around her. ‘It’s pretty late anyway, I’m surprised you latest this long without one.’

‘Singing is like second nature to me,’ Poe said.

Jessika specifically stopped what she was doing for a second to look at him. ‘I can see that.’

Poe raised his eyebrows in response and then moved around to lean forward on the bar again. Running a hand through his hair he sighed deeply and only now began to contemplate what had happened to get it so splintered in the first place.

His opening night was over and he hadn’t even noticed. He ran the same hand over his chin, reminding him that he’d forget a time when it wasn’t grown over with a beard. Back as a pilot he had always been clean cut since that was part of the regulation uniform. With the rising costs of pretty much everything these days, Poe’s money had simply been better spent on other things than razors and shaving cream.

The little clinks of glasses being pushed against each other on a tray indicted where Jessika was as she made her way through the room. Eventually all the empty glasses must have been collected because Poe didn’t hear anymore clinks for a while and then abruptly Jessika appeared in front of him.

Poe looked up at her with a tired smile and she gave him another endearing expression.

He watched her pile the glasses carefully into a foaming sink, until his gaze fell on the metal vat full of bubbling meat broth that he’d been eyeing hungrily all night. ‘Hey, Jessika, before you finish up can I get some broth, if you would be so kind?’

‘Sure.’ Once she’d found something to dry her hands with, Jessika filled a bowl and then placed it down in front of him. ‘That’ll be 10 credits.’

Poe was about to reach for the bowl when it dawned on him. ‘Wait, I have to pay?’

‘Yes. Sorry,’ Jessika said, awkwardly. ‘I don’t make the rules. I’ve got to charge for everything. If it’s any consolation none of the money goes to me, by the way.’

‘I don’t have any credits yet.’

Jessika’s eyes widened. ‘Oh, I—’

‘No it’s okay. I can survive without food for one day,’ Poe said, quickly before she tried to convince him otherwise. His stomach on the other hand decided to work against him and choice just in that moment to growl rather loudly.

It left Poe stilted enough that Jessika managed to speak again, ‘you haven’t eaten all day?! Here, what they don’t know can’t hurt them.’ Abruptly she shoved the bowl until it was flush against Poe’s stomach.

This only served to make his situation far worse as the warm vapour of the broth floated directly up into his nose. The savoury smell of meat and garlic instantly made his mouth water. But he could hide that so Poe pushed the bowl away quickly before something he couldn’t hide happened, like his stomach growling again. ‘No, Jessika. _Please_. I don’t want you getting into trouble because of me. I’ll survive.’

In all honesty Poe wanted to take her up on her offer of sneaking him some food. He’d always been the rebellious type. Even as the dictatorship of their country grew stronger, Poe never let that lessen his bravery. But this wasn’t about rebellion. Recent times had been indescribably tough and that had taken its toll on Poe. His soul was tired and bitter. He knew this was really about him punishing himself for no good reason than because he could. Poe wasn’t what he used to be, he wasn’t a pilot anymore. He was nothing and therefore deserved nothing in turn. It was such a silly thing, really. But Poe listened to the darkness and he let it win. This time.

‘But, Poe, you—’

Poe faked a smile in an attempt to persuade Jessika further but he didn’t need to look at himself to know it would have seemed very out of place on his face. ‘Please. I’ll survive,’ he said.

Jessika made a face like someone had just punched her friend really hard in the stomach and Poe kind of hoped that was part way true. She sighed and then tut-tutted, still looking at him with that wounded expression. ‘Poe…’ she said.

‘I’m fine,’ he said. ‘This isn’t the first day of my life I’ve been without food. I’ll get some credits tomorrow and order something then.’ He tried to make that sound as convenient for him as possible but it was hard with that bowl of broth currently remaining within smelling distance. Sensing the bad change in atmosphere, Poe thought best if he left now. ‘Look,’ he said, getting up from his seat. ‘I’m gonna head to back to my room. I’ll look out for you tomorrow, though.’

Not waiting for a response, he turned on his heel and started to walk away.

Poe got about half out across the room before he heard Jessika gently say, ‘bye, Poe.’

But he didn’t stop or turn to indicate in any way that he’d heard her.

The rumbling in his stomach got worse the closer and closer he got to his flat. He was practically stumbling by the time he physically saw his door, almost faint even, not remembering the bar being that far away the last few times he’d travelled this distance.

BB-8 attacked his feet the moment he opened the door, twirling in and out of his legs whilst he moved across the floor. In his current state this was quite inconvenient. ‘I’m not really in the mood, BB-8,’ he said, trying to step away from them. Then he realised why he was getting so much attention all of a sudden.

Poe sat down on his tatty sofa and pulled the cat into his lap despite their disapproving hiss. Once they’d settled down, he said, ‘I’m sorry, BB-buddy, looks like you’ve gotta go hungry as well.’

Their unblinking big eyes stared up at Poe expectantly and it caused a twinge of guilt ran through him.

He raised his hand and moved it slowly over the hair on their head, brushing up to their ears.

BB-8 closed their eyes to the touch and purred.

Poe smiled. ‘You know if I could, I’d spoil you rotten.’

He thought he heard BB-8’s purr raise a slight octave in agreement but it was most likely the lack of food now taking effect on his hearing.

BB-8 then abruptly darted from his lap and bounced over to the window on the kitchen side of the room.

‘You wanna go out?’ Poe said forcing himself to stand again. ‘Good idea, buddy. Why didn’t I think of that?’ he muttered to himself walking over. The window took quite some pushing to create an opening big enough for BB-8 to slip out.

The cat meowed at him satisfactory, before disappearing into the twirling, whirling pitch black world.

‘Go catch some food for the both of us, buddy,’ Poe said as way of a goodbye.

Barely exposed for more than half a minute and already a thin layer of snow was forming on the internal window ledge. Clearly it hadn’t stopped snowing all day. He hoped that didn’t mean they’d be snowed in by morning. Shivering and unhopeful, Poe jolted the window down by one tiny inch, simply to make it smaller, before closing its thick curtains. He got the blanket from his bed and then stuffed it along the bottom of the curtain to hold it down.

Having failed to switch on the lights when he entered the room, his flat was now plunged into total darkness. Poe carefully stepped his way towards the light switch on the opposite corner of the room and flicked it.

Thankfully, his lights actually worked. They _didn’t_ require credits too. It wouldn’t have surprised Poe if they had, of course. Another shiver ran through him and he delved into his bag to find his sweater, the last remaining piece of clothing he owned that he wasn’t already wearing. Annoyingly, it had quite a tight neck hole so Poe had to strip off all his current layers to put it on over his base layer of a white t-shirt.

He hoped on a whim that he might also find some leftover food in his bag but soon discovered it was stupid to have thought so.

Poe didn’t have much in the way of possessions. Sunglasses for Summer, a scarf for Winter, which he already had on. Then there were his essentials: a toothbrush, a hair brush, ironically a razor, a twenty year old notebook, a couple of pencils somewhere, and his passport marked to confirm he wasn’t of Jedi descendancy. The only item of real value in his possession was a to-scale model of his old ship, the X-Wing. Although, it only served to bring back painful memories whenever Poe laid eyes on it, he simply didn’t have the heart to get rid of the thing. It was made of metal so the model was pretty resistant to damage, however he kept it sealed shut in a tin box anyway. That kept it out of sight, if anything. Unfortunately that didn’t stop it from rattling in his bag from time to time. When delving into his bag this time, he left it alone.

Poe Dameron was twenty eight this year and had been unable to catch a break in over five years. It shouldn’t have been surprising this new gig would be no different. His life had become about living day-to-day, hence why he didn’t have a single credit to his name yet. This meant that the last time he had eaten a full meal was yesterday morning, using the remaining credits from the previous night’s singing.

He’d then spent the rest of the day organising his new establishment to this factory. Poe had no idea what the workers did here but they’d said they wanted a new singer for their bar and so he’d applied for the job, nevertheless.

Almost every muscle in his body, inside and out, seemed to groan in unison as he lay back on his new bed. But it was comfortable, so at least that was something.

Poe then spent the next hour or so failing to fall asleep.

At the hour-and-a-half mark, with another yawn escaping from his system, Poe rubbed his hands over his face and stared up at the ceiling.

It was a combination of several things keeping him awake. An empty stomach, for one, made it hard to relax, as well as kept him thinking. Plus the room was beginning to get exceedingly colder now he needed to leave the window open for BB-8’s return.

All the right ingredients for sleep were there, exhaustion and a horizontal position, it was just his stomach and this damn cold that wouldn’t let him rest.

Giving it another ten minutes, Poe finally concluded it was useless and had to sit up. He yawned yet again and then immediately wrapped his arms around himself as the draft from the window picked up once more. Cursing BB-8 for being a patient hunter, Poe found this whole situation infuriating because he had been able to fall sleep hungry before, on multiple occasions.

So the question was, who was the culprit stopping him this time?

Poe knew the answer. He’d known it since this sleeplessness had begun to overcome him, he’d just refused to be honest with himself.

Deciding if anything he needed his sleep, he chose to give in to this answer and made his way out of his flat. BB-8 would just have to figure out where the slit in the window was themselves to get back inside. They were a pretty smart cat so Poe wasn’t worried.

He walked quietly down the corridor and when he found the door he was looking for, gently knocked on it.

A couple of seconds later, Jessika Pava opened the door, dressed in something lighter than her work attire, presumably for sleeping in. After looking him up and down, her expression became questioning.

‘I think I might be a little interested in that _help_ you were offering,’ Poe said as an answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is indeed from Finn’s point of view but I don’t think it’s as good as this one. I find Finn really hard to write considering he’s like the polar opposite of me (besides bisexuality) plus I have to get that whole character-ignorance-towards-a-situation-that-the-audience-realises-is-actually-bad thing going on, which is tricky in its own right. But I’m trying my best. :)  
> And Finn deserves nothing less; the guy is such important representation.


	2. FN-2187

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all the people who took the time to put lovely comments on the first chapter. It may not seem like it, but you are BIG part of the reason why I haven't given up on this fic yet. :)
> 
> Although, I feel this is the chapter where you all lose faith in me (I hate this chapter lol)

When FN-2187 went to sleep at night he dreamed of invisibility. More specifically, he dreamed of the freedom, one he would gain while he was completely unseen. It seemed like such a silly notion to even think about. But the First Order couldn’t stop him dreaming. Well, at least not so far. It became even more silly when he put into account the fact that he was often naked in these dreams. To FN-2187, however, this seemed like the logical environment to judge whether or not he was being seen. If he didn’t feel exposed while exposing himself to the hilt then he must have been invisible.

Alas, he was never left much time to contemplate these things. That didn’t stop him from trying, though.

Woken up by a piercing alarm every day, FN-2187 had to be washed and dressed in twenty minutes, fed in another fifteen, and then heading out to one of the main work rooms of the factory to begin his work. Not more than an hour from when he’d been awoken into this world again and he was already aligned within the machine, churning away.

As explained in their evening holovid announcements, this factory was the largest producer of durasteel in the whole country. To do this, the campus was split into four Levels. But unlike their name, these Levels were in fact placed in a different building rather than stacked up one on top of the other in the same building.

Level One, where FN-2187 currently resided, was in charge of extraction and distribution of the durasteel ore. It was said the job assigned to this Level was the easiest of the four Levels but FN-2187 had no idea what went on in the other buildings so he couldn’t judge this with absolute surety.

FN-2187 had lived his entire life in this factory and during this time his every move had been and currently was watched. From the second he awoke in the morning to the last moment of consciousness at night, and more so. FN-2187 couldn’t remember a time when this wasn’t the case.

Being observed constantly created a strange connection between the soul and the body. It wasn’t strong enough that he knew the placement of _every_ muscle on _every_ bone of his body at any given time. FN-2187 was simply _very aware_ of his body. Perhaps it could be an enhanced kinaesthetic sense, but that wasn’t a subject which arose during his monthly health examination.

The only time in FN-2187’s life where he felt unwatched was in his sleep. However, this was actually the case of not being conscience enough to be _aware_ of the constant observation rather than not being watched. So it still remained he needed to be deep REM sleep for the feeling to work properly.

This morning’s holovid announcement spoke of heavy snow fall from the previous night as the day’s ore was, nonetheless, dumped onto the conveyor belt.

 _Nothing could stop this factory from working_ , the voice narrating the holovid declared.

Suppressing his yawns, FN-2187 began to pick apart the black chunks in front of him. He never found a piece of pure ore, no one did, but any chunks with signs or traces of the shiny durasteel were to be place in a designated bucket. Once his bucket was full, he would carry it to the gates on the other side of the room and empty it onto the chutes. There, FN-2187 could conclude, it was collected into wheel barrels and taken to the Level Two building, but after that he had no idea what happened to it.

If this _was_ the easiest Level in the whole factory, then FN-2187 certainly didn’t have trouble seeing why.

Everyone else around him was the same age of nineteen and they too had spent their whole lives in this factory. FN-2187 didn’t know many of their numbers or nicknames, bar the man who stood next him. His number was FN-2003 and his nickname was Slip. Unfortunately it was a nickname he lived up to daily.

Slip stood in the line before FN-2187 but he was always second to visit the gates with his bucket, as well as going less often over the course of the day. Admittedly, they were near the end which meant most of the durasteel ore became scarce by the point it reached them, but Slip still continuously managed to miss several large amounts of the correct chunks, leaving FN-2187 and the person opposite to frantically pick up his missing pieces before they disappeared into the disposal chute next to them.

Everyone knew when sales were bad because Slip would either be on the blunt end of every Official’s leather straps or he’d turn up in the Iron Necklace again. Sadly, neither of these served to make his work efficiency any better.

But, to tell the truth, FN-2187 had never minded all this and probably never would. Slip had made for good company over these past few years, and, if anything, FN-2187 simply didn’t want him to get left behind. _You’re one of us, after all_ , he kept remembering.

At least Slip was excellent at taking it all on the chin, never complaining once no matter how hard his punishments became. In fact, FN-2187 often found Slip laughing along with everyone else, as if the joke wasn’t on him but in fact on the occurrence of inefficient behaviour itself.

Today Slip was no different than usual. He wasn’t in the Iron Necklace, thankfully; whenever on, it would chaff against the skin on his neck something awful.

Although considering the previous events of the day, it was a wonder why this wasn’t the case. From the quiet conversations FN-2187 had heard in the mess hall during first meal, Slip had already dropped his soap in the gutter while in the refresher, which meant he then had to chase it down the room in front of everyone; then in the dresser room, he’d failed to stand up straight enough during the nation anthem, causing an Official to give the earliest strapping of the month and, now, by the break number one mark, FN-2187 glanced over and saw that Slip’s bucket was barely half full, having only visited the chute once previous.

This was when an alarm rang across the room and the durasteel ore conveyor belt came to a shuddering stop.

Failing to suppress his yawn, Slip looked over to FN-2187 and smiled as they headed towards the mess hall together.

Moving through food stations in silence, it was only when they had sat down were they allowed to talk.

‘Did you see the snow last night?’ Slip said, moments in their meal. ‘Me and a couple others in my dorm spent most of the night by the window watching it fall.’

FN-2187 could imagine it, the twenty or so boys and girls of Slip’s dorm crowded around the tiny, ceiling high window, most of them only getting a glimpse of moonlit white flakes twirling in the harsh wind. The only other windows on campus were in the work areas and those were high above everything else so FN-2187 often forgot what it was like outside. ‘No, I haven’t,’ he said.

‘I know this Winter has been going on for months now,’ Slip said, ‘but it never stops to amaze me.’

FN-2187 paused his eating then and looked at Slip for a moment because those words settled oddly inside of him. He’d never considered the weather to be something that could amaze people. It simply existed, did its business, and then went away again.

‘What do you mean?’ FN-2187 said.

Slip appeared surprised by that question, possibly since FN-2187 rarely asked him things of his own accord, and instead choosing to only respond when Slip spoke first or to not even say anything at all. After thinking for a second, Slip then said, ‘the weather will always do what it does regardless of what I think. I know that. It’s even predictable sometimes. But even still, I like to watch what happens and be impressed by it.’

Unfortunately he’d misunderstood the intent of the question. It didn’t seem worth the effort to try and explain it properly, though – it was only about the weather, after all – so FN-2187 let the subject drop and acted like this was the answer he’d been expecting.

Smiling, Slip then said, ‘what’s your favourite weather?’

‘I don’t know,’ FN-2187 said. He didn’t need to think about it.

A few minutes later the alarm rang through the mess hall again and they headed back to the work floor.

Talking was forbidden while working, but other forms of communications weren’t as strictly regulated. Over the years, Slip and FN-2187 had developed small gestures and taps that possessed greater meanings than what the Officials patrolling around would take them for.

Such as tapping his bucket once was FN-2187 saying to Slip that his bucket would be full soon. FN-2187 liked to warn him before he disappeared off to the chutes since Slip then would have to pick up his slack and work extra hard. Even if it was for only a short while, it didn’t seem nice to push such a responsibility on him in surprise. Usually Slip would tap his own bucket as well as signal of him being ready for FN-2187 to go, unless if they were in proximity of the nearest Official. One tap can easily be made to look accidental but two in a row, not so much; that came across as a pattern.

If Slip dropped an ore chuck on top of another one three times in the expanse of a minute that was him telling FN-2187 he was struggling too much. Admittedly he was always struggling but, this time, it was beginning to become too much. FN-2187 could then make a point of reaching for the correct chunks within range of them both, therefore allowing Slip to snatch them up in the last second. Obviously, this became hard to pull off around any of the Officials, so that meant sometimes Slip simply had to take what strappings that came and all FN-2187 could do was watch.

The day ended on another alarm. The conveyor belt had begun to empty of correct chunks long before this, although no one was allowed to leave it until the alarm. Outside, there was still a substantial amount of ore to work through but it was never finished. In fact, it never would be finished. They would all work in this factory up to the exact day they died. This was their part in life. Like the weather, FN-2187 suddenly mused whilst he made his way to the mess hall again.

A part of him thought to mention this new similarity discovery to Slip, and then another part said that Slip wouldn’t like it. FN-2187 wasn’t exactly sure why but he trusted that part of him enough to listen to it. He had good instincts and they were saying not go through with it.

Dinner was a simple dish of one protein block, green beans, and a mealbread stick. Slip kept quiet this time around because evening meals were more heavily observed by the Officials on order of the factory owner himself, General Hux. FN-2187 only ever saw him in the holovids and only ever heard about him from the Officials but understood his orders were not to be questioned.

In effect, Slip rarely even looked up from his tray during this meal time, because right now the work from the previous day was being evaluated. He found it was best to just keep to himself and avoid aggravating the Officials anymore than he already did. FN-2187 hated this part just as much as Slip’s strappings, since there was nothing he could do to help.

They made their way back to their beds separately having been placed in different dorms. His dorm and, as far as he was aware, all the others were simple rooms filled with simple colours, lined with beds and small sets of drawers to store their datapads, so everyone got the same. This discouraged an introduction of personalization, which FN-2187 felt was slightly unfair, given they all wore the same clothes too. No one was able to stand out.

FN-2187 would usually spend this time reading factory approved literacy on his datapad until the curfew alarm sounded. Then it was credit collection and, on certain days, timetable revision before changing into sleepwear and bed, waking up again tomorrow to do it all over again.

And that was his life, all day every day, since FN-2187 had grown old enough to work, since he had known what work was. This was his life, despite the fact it never really felt like one.

Then one day after the evening holovid, Captain Phasma called for FN-2187 to stay behind. It was after the final work shift and, like at the end of any day of hard work, he simply wanted to eat his dinner and go to his bed, nothing else, but when the Captain gave out an order she was to be obeyed.

Therefore, FN-2187 did what he was told and stayed by his station while the room began to empty. Slip cast him a concerning look from across the crowd of other workers before disappearing into the exit door.

Little did FN-2187 know that would be the last time he’d see his friend for a very long while.

Captain Phasma was as stoic and stern as usually, standing tall behind her office desk, her sharp blonde hair slick back away from her face. She had approached him as silently as she stood now, giving nothing more than a mere head jerk for indication that FN-2187 should follow her to her office. Silver gloves stretched over her hands like a second skin and a long black cloak cut over her left arm with a red stripe running down the front steam.

Black and red, the colours of the First Order. Their political symbol was a black circle with teeth on the inner rim and that was to be placed only _ever_ on a red background. They decorated their walls, their uniforms, and every piece of produce with these colours. It was a very particular shade of red and, having become so engraved in his mind, FN-2187 would recognise it in either delirium or dream. He abruptly realised Captain Phasma was wearing this colour ratio the other way around, with red on a black background, but then also remembered that General Hux and his bodyguard only wore just black so it can’t have mattered much.

FN-2187 thought about all this while Captain Phasma stared at him in her crisp and deafening silence. He didn’t stare back at her, of course, his gaze was directed straight forward. Workers were never to look their superiors in the eye, no matter the circumstances. To do so, along with intentionally turning their back on an Official or talking back during conversation, would get them court-martialled. He was yet to see this happen to anyone he knew, but FN-2187 didn’t like the sound of it, nonetheless. He figured that was because he was supposed to.

Eventually Captain Phasma said, ‘sit,’ and immediately they both sat down.

The chair felt rigid against FN-2187’s frame, to be frank. It lacked cushion so he shifted ever so slightly, trying to get comfortable and avoid resting too much weight on the bones in his bum. It was hard to do this subtly and he hoped Captain Phasma didn’t notice.

If she did, she gave away no suggestion of insult and continued on, unrelenting. ‘FN-2187, do you have any idea why I have called you in here today?’ she said.

FN-2187 genuinely did think for a moment and then responded with, ‘No, Captain.’

Even though he still wasn’t allowed to look her in the eye, FN-2187 noticed in the corner of his gaze her face move upwards and assumed it was her eyebrows rising. Her next words solidified this conclusion. ‘Hmm, you should know modesty is not needed in my presence, FN-2187.’ She pulled her datapad into her lap and with one silver hand typed something onto its surface, then placed it gently down onto the desk before her.

From the wall behind where his gaze was directed at, he could feel her staring at him. FN-2187 had spoken with Captain Phasma on multiple occasions but it was always with at least four other workers, never one-on-one like this before. Suddenly her gaze felt intensely more isolating when he didn’t have people by his side.

‘You have great potential, worthy of my attention, FN-2187, and I truly believe one day you can become an excellent Commanding Official.’

FN-2187 frowned before he could stop himself.

Phasma spotted it instantly. ‘I can see you have some concerns with my words,’ she said. ‘If so, please speak them.’

FN-2187 struggled to keep his voice level because he’d never heard of this concept before. A part of him was afraid he would look like he didn’t care about his life path within the factory system. In all honesty, he didn’t. To him, it was a not-life, but he was smart to know he should still pay attention to what was in store. ‘It’s not that, Captain,’ he said. ‘I simply didn’t think it was a possibility for a worker… like myself, to become an Official someday.’

‘It isn’t.’

FN-2187 let go of the tension in his body he didn’t know he was holding.

‘I have spoken to General Hux about this and he agrees with me. To put it simply, your talent is too great to ignore.’ She threw a causal flick at the datapad and FN-2187 said nothing. ‘You understand that normally we would wait until you turn twenty,’ Phasma said. ‘Before transporting you towards Level Two but your work over the past five years has ultimately proven different.’

‘What does this mean will happen to me, Captain?’ FN-2187 said as flat as he could to prevent it from sounding demanding. He knew the Captain wouldn’t be happy if it did.

‘It means you are being transporting to Level Two one year early. In fact, you start there tomorrow,’ she said. ‘I will assign one of the workers to instruct and assist you while you adjust to your new skill set.’

She then didn’t speak for a long while and in that moment he knew Captain Phasma was looking straight at him. ‘Do not disappoint me. You are dismissed.’

‘Thank you, Captain.’ FN-2187 stood up and did as told.

Outside her office, his lungs pulled in the new air and somehow it felt different from that which he’d breathed inside. He made his way quickly back to his room, instead of the mess hall, and once there sat down on his bed, doing nothing for a long second. He knew he wasn’t allowed here during this time of day but FN-2187 desperately needed to be alone for a moment.

So far, it really hadn’t kicked in what had happened to him. He knew that tomorrow he would be working in a different part of the factory but he just didn’t _feel_ it yet.

In due course, FN-2187 made his way towards the mess hall before he got into some serious trouble. He was not to disappoint, Captain orders.

When he arrived he tried looking for Slip but couldn’t spot him in immediate sight, so quickly got his food and joined the nearest free seat instead to avoid attracting too much attention from the Officials. Even if he had found him, FN-2187 doubted Slip would have had a free seat near him anyways. But, nonetheless, it would have been nice to a see a reassuring and familiar face.

Halfway through his meal, Captain Phasma re-emerged. She began to address the entire room of workers this time, but did speak of FN-2187 however, and it appeared to be she was singling him out for praise because of his promotion. She mentioned his hard work and determination, his exceptional skills and how every worker should learn something from him.

FN-2187 didn’t view himself like this and found her whole speech made him feel awkward, even embarrassed. Being thankful Captain Phasma hadn’t located him to point him out as well, FN-2187 lowered his head and kept his gaze on his meal, hoping no one around him would recognise the subject of her speech.

After she’d left again, he took a deep breath and suddenly the rest of his meal didn’t seem so appetising.

Once the alarm rang through the air, FN-2187 walked straight back to his bed. The dorm room was practically empty so it was unlikely someone would stop him from putting his shoes on the sheets as he lay back on the bed. He wouldn’t be able to get any sleep for the next several hours, even if he skipped credit collection, not that he thought he’d be able after that time had passed.

He was right and that night FN-2187 lay awake in the dark room, listening to everyone else snoring away. Hours seemed to pass slower than if Slip were working the entire conveyor belt all by himself. He would be _moving to a harder Level of the factory tomorrow_ so FN-2187 knew how much he needed his sleep right now.

When slumber eventually did arrive, his dreams were far too energetic, filled with too much movement and effort that it didn’t really feel like sleep in the end. At this point he’d had no idea what time it was for their dorm room lacked a clock. But he knew one thing for sure. As always, he was being watched right up to the point he did fall asleep. Of course.

The next day, he felt this missing energy all the way down to his bones. Thinking maybe he could scrub it away in the refresher, FN-2187 rubbed his skin until it was raw. But that led to no avail.

Admittedly he was rather worried about where he should go today since he no longer belonged in Level One, and then upon leaving dressing room, he found an Official to be waiting for him. She asked for his identification number and once verified on her datapad, took him towards the Level Two building. She clearly did not like him at all and made a big show of how, since he was the only one from his dorm who would be going to this Level, she would have to take time out her busy schedule to escort him there personally every day until the factory required another method of moving him.

He knew it was rude but FN-2187 spent the whole first trip ignoring her ramblings and instead gazing about at his surroundings. The Level One factory room had a transparent roof, which retracted occasionally during certain times of the day to allow for direct sunlight to reach their skin, however, FN-2187 had never actually _been_ outside before.

The air felt lighter and the Sun seemed to shine with more room.

It was nice.

There was also more room in Level Two but FN-2187 didn’t find that enjoyable. This Level contained less staff than Level One and that troubled FN-2187. The simple conclusion to be made was that some workers didn’t make it to this Level, but for what reasons, FN-2187 wondered. He hoped they weren’t as bad he could imagine.

Finally satisfied although still unhappy, the Official left him by the door after calling over a worker and instructing him with what he was to do with FN-2187.

This worker’s identification was FN-2199 and, once the Official was out of sight, he insisted FN-2187 call him Nines instead. The presence of a nickname mixed with the fact he even shared the same light-skinned complexion resulted in Nines deeply reminding FN-2187 of Slip.

And all of a sudden he really missed his friend.

Nines insisted it wasn’t in fact a nickname because he’d given it to himself and _true_ nicknames were granted by other people. When FN-2187 asked what it was instead then, Nines didn’t have an answer.

He spent the rest of the day showing FN-2187 how to work the machinery within the room. FN-2187 discovered that on this Level they took the ore chunks from Level One, smashed them with hammers to separate off their impurities, put this ore “dust” into a liquid where the denser durasteel ore would sink through a filter, the pure ore coming out the other end was then melted and the piping hot molten liquid would be transported into a cooling tank, after that it disappeared off to the next Level of the factory.

From everything FN-2187 had possibly imagined of what happened to the chunks he put through that Level One gate, this certainly wasn’t it.

The method chemistry of the workers was also different from Level One. They didn’t stay in one place doing the same work as each other over and over until the day eventually finished. Here, they moved from area to area, sometimes passing tools or materials to each other, sometimes taking each other’s places to then move onto another area, or sometimes gathering around to help with the weight of the chain hoist pulley. It made FN-2187 feel like he was at the helm, controlling the machine for once instead of living as one clog of many from within it.

Fewer Officials operated in this Level as well, and what’s more, there were even times when there were no Officials around at all. Then, the worker would begin to talk and joke amongst each other.

Nines explained that it had something to do with the air. It became too smoky sometimes and the Officials would avoid hanging about in this Level because they didn’t want it to damage their health. When FN-2187 asked what about their health, Nines didn’t have an answer.

If FN-2187 had thought he was tired at the start of his day, it was nothing compared to the end of it. With the final alarm ringing through the room, he made a beeline straight for the mess hall. Meals were already planned out for them so FN-2187 knew he wouldn’t be allowed any extra food to boost his energy. To compensate, he spent longer chewing the food he did have to assume it might work as an alternative.

Again, Slip was nowhere in sight but FN-2187 still kept an eye out for him.

Obviously it was no trouble finding sleep this night. In fact FN-2187 had no trouble finding sleep for the next few weeks or so. But he didn’t mind because life in Level Two had found a way to improve his factory days.

His new identification was yet to be acquired so this meant the Official who disliked him still needed to take him into Level Two every morning and bring him back every evening. He made sure not to waste a second of his time outside and dreaded the day his identification finally came. If only the weather didn’t mean he had to be collected before night fall or else he would have been able to see the stars.

Now inside Level Two, life was improved through the lack of Officials. It meant no longer having a shadow constantly looming over their shoulders, so everyone around him could find a way to talk. It was an inexplicable concept to FN-2187 and he found it hard to join in. There wasn’t much to do in the factory to fuel a good conversation, therefore, on most occasions one of them would simply make up a story. Sometimes, they were scary stories or sometimes they were sad stories, although not sad enough to produce tears, and sometimes, they were funny stories but, out of all of them, FN-2187 found he never laughed.

Back in Level One, toilet breaks weren’t an option. Here, there was a designated bucket set in the corner for when anyone got really desperate.

So Level Two had find a way to improve a lot of things, it would seem.

Except Slip’s absence. With Slip, he always found something for them to talk about together rather than to simply _tell_ him something. Little things like dreams from the previous night or the weather.

He missed him. He missed _his friend_. He missed Slip especially in the evenings, which was strange because that was when he normally wouldn’t be around him anyway. They weren’t allowed to visit other dorms and wondering space around the factory grounds was extremely restricted. Yet he knew Slip was still alive and still in the factory, if only he were allowed opportunity to go find him. But their life and time was so controlled, it felt like seeing the food in a glass box and not being granted the key to unlocking it. All he needed was a more open opportunity to meet him again.

There did happen to be a _bar_ on the factory campus, FN-2187 remembered. Maybe, if he was lucky Slip might go there to try and find him as well.

He practically slammed his datapad on the bed rushing out of the dorm room. It didn’t bounce and bang onto the floor because he would have heard so he kept on moving and didn’t go back to check. The cost to repair one of those, for workers, was worth a whole day’s credits.

FN-2187 found the bar in no time at all but after a quick observation of the room, sadly Slip was still nowhere in sight.

Instead of leaving, however, FN-2187 made his way over to the bar and sat down, deciding he might as well; he’d never been here before. He thought he probably should order something. Did he _need_ to order something to be allowed to stay in the bar? FN-2187 began to fiddle with a bit of loose thread on his grey jumpsuit as excusable distraction from ordering just yet, when he heard a voice from across the room that ran through him like gentle steam.

FN-2187 was turning to look for its source before he could even stop himself. His eyes fell on the singer illuminated softly in the corner and instantly he wondered how he’d failed to notice them upon arrival. FN-2187 could tell they were older than him, or else they had lived their life with great unrest to have aged so much in the same years. Their skin tone was lighter, possessing also a bustle of curly hair on the top of the head and a beard across their chin and mouth. Factory regulation didn’t allow for its workers to grow beards so FN-2187 assumed that was the sole reason why he continued to stare at this man for a very long while.

He was an excellent singer, or at least FN-2187 considered so. He was mesmerised by the passion of this artist. Music had only ever been played to him through the tannoy system or during the holovids announcements; he’d certainly never heard it live before. The way the instrument and voice melted together, FN-2187 struggled to identity what sound came from what part. Even if he knew music better, he believed he still might struggle.

He never ordered a drink in the end and decided to leave shortly after the singer finished and began to pack up. The man moved towards the bar a moment before FN-2187 had completely left and, from there, he started talking to the person behind the bar. FN-2187 contemplated going over and telling him his music was the most beautiful he’d ever heard, but even just considering the option felt too brash of an idea.

He’d almost reached the exit as the singer suddenly laughed and it ran through FN-2187’s body all over again, he ended up darting out the room because, frankly, he felt like he needed to.

FN-2187’s feet strode along the floor with such determination that when the curfew alarm rang, he practically jumped out of his skin and was thankful he didn’t screech. There were still a few hours until he’d get into trouble for being where he was, still, FN-2187 wanted to find something that could take his mind someplace else for the time being.

However, finding his way back wasn’t as easy as it had been to find his way there at the beginning of the evening. FN-2187 had never been good at switching his left and right around in his head so he figured he must have taken the opposite turn of what he was meant to along the way. Maybe he should have waited in the bar and used the other workers to lead him the way back instead of the nobody he had now. But even then he’d have needed to pay attention to those who came from the same dorm as him and followed them.

Seriously, where had everyone gone all of a sudden?

All these twists and turns mixing with the panic bubbling in his system was leading to FN-2187 almost feeling dizzy, when he finally came across some voices. Blinded by relief, he headed straight towards the corner they were protruding from. But once he got within clear earshot and started to understand what was being said, FN-2187 stopped dead in his tracks.

‘You got any credits on ya?’ someone was saying and it sounded like a threat.

‘I’m not quite sure what you mean,’ another voice said and as FN-2187 peered cautiously around the corner he saw it belonged to that bar singer. He was surrounded by five or so workers who had backed him into a corner, just outside the bar entrance.

FN-2187 would have been annoyed at himself for backtracking on his way to his dorm, but his sympathies were somewhat currently preoccupied.

‘He knows what you mean,’ a female worker elbowed the first male worker and the one closest to the singer. ‘He just thinks he’s funny.’

‘I don’t think I’m _just_ anything. I’m actually just trying to get home,’ the singer said gesturing towards the corridor beside him, the one they were all incidentally blocking him from.

‘Give us some credits and we’ll escort you there personally,’ a third female worker said.

Where was that bar tender the singer had been talking to? Why wasn’t she here to help? FN-2187 thought, they were only a few metres outside her bar. But then maybe he’d miscalculated how close their relationship was.

‘Oh don’t exhaust yourself,’ the singer looked them dead in the eye while he spoke. ‘I know the way pretty well myself.’

‘I don’t think you do actually,’ the first worker who’d spoke stepped right up into the singer’s space.

He backed away instantly and, if not for the distance, FN-2187 could have sworn he saw some fear jump over the man’s face as he collided unexpectedly with the wall behind. ‘They train you to read minds as well as work non-stop?’ he said, voice faulting while his eyes travelled down the figure in front of him.

‘I think I can tell what you’re thinking right now,’ the worker grabbed the singer’s jacket and raised his fist.

Despite the obvious indication of what was to come next, the singer eyed the fist defiantly. ‘Oh really?’

Surprisingly, after nothing the worker dropped his arm and let go. Stepping back, he then turned to his friend and said with a head jerk, ‘make it quick.’

The last two workers, who were yet to say anything so far, stepped forward. One instantly slammed a fist into the singer’s stomach. He made an abnormal sound and bent over himself, a case FN-2187 hadn’t noticed was in his hand until now, dropped to the floor with a large thud. It burst open upon impact and some things metal sounding spilled out across the floor. The second and third workers scurried to pick up the small pieces while the other silent member grabbed the singer’s shoulder and when his face came into view, she collided her fist with his cheek. Crying out again, the singer fell to the ground this time and the workers quickly gathered round and began throwing kicks to his stomach.

FN-2187 looked away at that point, unable to bear the violence any longer, his ears ringing with the singer’s cries.

He needed to do something to stop this because it was the right thing to do.

Squeezing himself into the deep gap along the corridor’s wall, he cupped his hand around his mouth and shouted, ‘oi, watch out! An official’s nearby!’

Silence.

His plan must have worked because they’d stopped hitting the singer, at least. FN-2187 then heard them talking amongst themselves, quick statements of them all rushing to get on the same page:

‘ _What did you say?_ ’

‘ _Wasn’t me_.’

' _I think it came from down there_.’

‘ _They said an official’s coming. That means we should go_.’

‘ _Yeah. Let’s go_.’

FN-2187 held his breath as he heard them hurrying towards him. Encased in this break in the wall, he should have been undetectable, unless they were specifically looking. Were they? Nonetheless he couldn’t help but squeeze his eyes shut as the group travelled past him, expecting at any moment for one of them to shout out or to haul him from the dip in the wall.

When nothing happened and their voices faded down another corner, FN-2187 opened his eyes and ventured out.

They were gone.

All thoughts of heading back to his dorm forgotten, he moved back around the corner to the bar entrance. He watched the singer, still where he was by the wall, hastily begin to collect himself and find his footing again.

‘Stubborn bastard,’ he cursed after running a finger over his scarlet split lip.

FN-2187 wondered why he hadn’t made the insult plural since more than one of them had beaten him up. And then he was spotted.

The singer shot him a bemused but bitter look. ‘You wanna have a whack at me too, kid, huh? Don’t worry, there’s plenty to go around.’

FN-2187 said nothing. He didn’t really know what to say and instead walked up to the singer’s instrument, taking note of the fact the singer tensed when he did so. FN-2187 carefully placed his instrument back inside its case, along with any credit coins left behind, before straightening up and setting it down next to him.

The singer tried a small smile from his spot leaning desperately against the wall. ‘Thank you,’ he said, a little breathless. The man then lent down to pick up his instrument and immediately winced, clutching the side where he’d been kicked.

He knew it was none of his business and, really, he should just go, yet FN-2187 couldn’t help but say, ‘I don’t think you should carry that at the moment.’

‘I’m fine,’ the singer reassured, neither of them exactly knew whether it was for him or FN-2187. He tried again and the same result played out as before.

‘Look, man, you can barely bend over,’ FN-2187 said. He stepped forward reaching for the singer’s shoulder to help steady him but found he had his hand batted away.

‘Yeah, well I’ve got no other options,’ the singer said, firmly. Ignoring the pain this time, he once again reached down for his instrument.

 _This guy is the stubborn bastard_ FN-2187 thought and he quickly snatched up the case, seeing it as the only option to prevent him from bending over any lower. ‘Let me carry it,’ he said, clutching it to his chest.

The singer’s eyes moved over towards him deliberately slow, his bitter expression unchanging. ‘Haven’t you got to get back to your room by beddy-byes or something?’

FN-2187 knew what he was doing here, knew the singer was trying to insult FN-2187 so he would dislike him and then leave him alone. But FN-2187 also knew he just couldn’t do that, simple as. So he shoved his pride to the side and looked the singer in the eye. ‘It’s called _curfew_ ,’ he said, firmly, ‘and it’s actually not for another hour at the least.’

To his surprise the singer began to relax a small bit. Intrigued, he pushed himself up and around until he was fully facing FN-2187. ‘What are we gonna say if someone stops us?’ he said.

FN-2187 thought for a moment. ‘All the Officials and Captains have carriers and assistants,’ he said, ‘so I don’t see why we’d immediately look out of place.’

The singer only appeared half convinced and FN-2187 was positive he was on the brink of telling him to _just leave_ , when shrugged and pushed himself off the wall. He glanced down warily at his instrument in FN-2187’s hands. ‘Don’t let that bang against anything. It’s old and delicate,’ he said and then began to waddle gradually down the corridor for FN-2187 to follow.

 _Hmm_ , FN-2187 thought for a second, and then did just that.

They made their way back to the singer’s flat in a tense silence. Clearly both of them were scared of getting caught together and the fact FN-2187 had never been to this part of the factory campus before, meaning he had no idea if it was under surveillance, only served to let the worries grow.

Finally reaching his flat door, the singer produced a set of keys from his pocket and let them both inside.

Not sure where to put the instrument down and not being instructed to do so either, FN-2187 ended up stood awkwardly by the door. A part of him didn’t actually want the door to close because then that would mean he’d have truly entered a part of the campus which was strictly off limits and that was wrong. But then the other part of him realised he’d already come this far, therefore why should it matter now and he stepped forward to allow the door to swing shut behind him.

The singer carefully removed his jacket and flung it over this long soft-looking chair he had in the middle of the room. Then turning to FN-2187, he held out his hand. ‘I’m Poe. Uh, I mean my name is Poe Dameron. What’s your name, by the way?’

‘FN-2187,’ he said, shaking the hand. In that moment he concluded this wasn’t really a name because it did not match the same formula as all the other names he’d heard. Poe, Nines, Phasma, Hux, Snoke, even Slip. They were names. But ‘FN-2187’? That was a form of identification, recognition within the factory crowds, and not something to call the consciousness that transcended his bones.

Poe made a face. ‘FN-what?’ he said, clearly struggling to remember the numbers.

‘It’s the only name I’ve ever been given,’ FN-2187 said, plainly.

Poe frowned at that. Considering FN-2187’s answer for a moment, eventually he said, ‘by the factory?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Well, if that’s the case I ain’t using it,’ Poe said and FN-2187 could tell from his expression this option on the matter was irrefutable. ‘FN, huh?’ Poe sat down on the back of his long chair, thinking. ‘Finn. How about I call you Finn instead? Is that alright with you?’

‘Finn.’ FN-2187 let the word echo about in his head. No one had ever given him a name like this before, not in his whole life. To be honest he’d probably have taken whatever he could get, but at the same time the nickname just seemed _perfect_. ‘Yeah I like that. Nice to meet you, Poe.’

‘Nice to meet you too, Finn.’ Poe smiled at him and then got up to head into his kitchen.

 ~~FN-2187~~ ( _no, not FN-2187; he had a different name now_ )

Finn watched him walk away for a second before suddenly holding up the instrument still in his hand and asking, ‘uh, where should I put this?’

‘By my bed,’ Poe said, pointing towards said object in the corner.

Finn went up to it and popped the instrument down at its side. Unintentionally his eyes wondered up over the sheets and he caught sight of a sketch book that rested on Poe’s pillow. It was folded open on a page filled head to toe with small symbols inside of and around grids. Finn had no idea what any of it meant and mainly wondered why Poe hadn’t made these drawings on the datapad lying right next to his sketch book instead.

‘Can you, um, help me with this?’ Poe said, his voice bringing Finn back into the room.

Shaking his head briskly, Finn turned around and found, to his _complete surprise_ , Poe sat on the arm of his soft chair _shirtless_ with a clump of cotton in one hand and a dark bottle in the other. Again, he couldn’t stop his eyes from wondering up and down Poe’s frame. Finn didn’t fully understand the feeling suddenly blooming in his belly but he didn’t care because he liked it nonetheless. And the prospect of getting closer to Poe in this state seemed very appealing for some reason. ‘Oh. Sure,’ he said. He darted over and took the freshly wet cotton from Poe’s hand.

‘Just dab the bruises,’ Poe instructed, lifting his arm to allow Finn access and revealing the full extent of the purple and black blotches stretching out over his ribs. The bruise reached right over to his front and almost down to his hips.

Swallowing back his jitters at how painful that must be, Finn patted the cotton over the top section of Poe’s bruise.

Instantly, Poe tensed and began to twitch away. Finn thought it was because of the coldness of the ointment but as he continued, Poe did too. Until eventually he said, ‘lighter, lighter, _please_.’

‘I’m so sorry. I’ve never done this before. Is this light enough?’ Finn said, patting so lightly he thought the cotton wasn’t even touching Poe’s skin.

Yet, ‘yeah that’s fine,’ Poe said, slowly relaxing whilst Finn moved the cotton across his bruise.

If he was honest, because of the proximity with which Finn’s nose was from Poe’s armpit, the singer kind of smelt a bit. But Finn resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose at the stench to avoid insulting him since maybe he didn’t have a shower – Finn instantly spotted the refresher door on the other side of the room – or the fight with those workers had made him work up a sweat and he didn’t smell like this all the time or perhaps it was his personal preference to smell this much. Either way, Finn partly regretted his early thought of wanting to get closer to Poe in this state.

He could see Poe watching him from the corner of his eye and doubled his efforts not to appear disgusted. But Poe then looked away suddenly and didn’t look back again until he saw that Finn was done, breaking the silence developing between them.

‘All done,’ Finn said, placing the cotton down in Poe’s palm.

He half smiled. ‘Thank you, Finn.’ However, Poe immediately the silence developing handed the cotton back, along with the bottle and twisted around to retrieve his shirt.

Another unknown feeling blossom inside him at the sound of Poe saying his new name, meaning he couldn’t speak until Poe was double shirted again and slinging his jacket gradually up his arms. ‘What about your lip?’ Finn said. ‘Do you want me to put some of this on there as well?’ He raised the hand holding the bottle.

‘Oh no, that’s only for bruises.’ Once on, Poe wrapped the jacket around his front with plenty of room, since it appeared to be about one size too big for him, and that did something to mask his smell some bit. ‘Unfortunately there’s not much I can do for a split lip except wash it.’ He finally took the bottle and cotton back and moved to place them in the kitchen area.

Finn stayed by the soft chair and observed once more, while Poe put the bottle away in one of his cupboards. Moving to the sink, Poe started to run a cloth under water.

Silence developed between them again until Poe seemed to laugh with himself before saying, ‘hey you know, my bruises aren’t the only thing that need dabbing, by the way.’ He then turned his head towards Finn and winked, smirking.

Inadvertently Finn’s cheeks began to heat up of their own accord. He really had no idea why his body was reacting this way around Poe or what any of it meant. ‘Wait, I-I thought you said I couldn’t use this on your lips though?’ he said, realising.

Poe’s face fell. ‘I— yeah, never mind. It’s fine,’ he said, returning to his wet cloth. After soaking it a little while longer, he switched off the water and twisted the cloth empty in his hands. ‘Well I think I can handle this part pretty well on my own,’ Poe said, pointing to his lip upon making his way back over to Finn. ‘So you should probably get going before you get into trouble.’

‘Right,’ Finn said, staying where he was. ‘You sure you don’t need my help still?’

‘Actually, I do.’ Poe bowed his head and didn’t say anything else for a while, like he was struggling to think of what he should say next. ‘But you shouldn’t get into trouble,’ he said, head still to the ground. ‘Not because of me.’ Finally, he looked up at Finn but only with his eyes and Finn saw something he didn’t quite understand. ‘ _Go_ , Finn.’

Reluctant, Finn did as he was asked and walked over to the door. He reached out for the handle then stopped. ‘I really liked your music,’ he said glancing at Poe for his reaction but the singer was angled away. ‘You should know it’s the best music I’ve ever heard, not that I’ve heard much to be a good judge but still...’

Poe didn’t say anything or even turn around. However, Finn still hoped he was smiling.

He left struggling to breathe through that tense silence developing again and it meant he needed to pause a few seconds outside Poe’s door. Although, extending the time to as long as possible, he didn’t hear any noise project from inside.

Finn made it back to the right place this time, somehow. There wasn’t much of a journey back to the bar from Poe’s flat and remembering his mistake from earlier, Finn made sure not to travel the same route he did before and as a result he found somewhere familiar in no time.

His dorm was empty and he hurried to grab his datapad, bringing up the credit log page as he practically ran towards the Finance Hall. The line to the desk only had one bend in it when he arrived – normally there were seven – and so Finn dashed to the back, doing his best to ignore the dirty looks from the Officials by burying his head in his datapad.

When the line got to his turn, the Finance person didn’t waste any time. She snatched up his datapad and within a couple of seconds was handing it back to him, credit transfer complete. Clearly not in the mood for pleasantries the Finance person was handing back Finn’s datapad and lowering their shutter in one swift movement, leaving Finn to awkwardly shuffle away to the exit door.

When he’d returned, his dorm was full of the various other workers hanging out and getting ready for bed. Finn walked quietly over to his bed and sat down. Try as he might, he couldn’t stop his thoughts from wondering back to Poe. He imagined the singer attempting to do the same action of simply sitting down on his bed and this vision involved Poe clutching at his side again, just making his injury a whole lot worse. It sent more jitters down Finn’s legs.

He tried not to think about it and spent the rest of the night cluttering his head with daydreams.

The next day he asked Nines about the bar from last night and whether he’d been there before too. Nines said in fact he had, but ceased because the singer they’d hired happened to be completely tune deaf. Finn knew he was not talking about Poe.

The rate of work within Level Two passed at its usual slow pace, meaning unfortunately Finn felt the anxiety at Poe’s wellbeing sparking up and down his back the whole day through. His vexations surrounding Slip’s absence managed to dull the problem, but not to much extent because it only served to leave him alone with his thoughts of Poe.

However, at the ring of the final break bell, Finn went to his dorm first. It was hard to listen to the part of him that said to do this. Sitting down on his bed and pulling his datapad onto his lap, he thought it best to give it some time before he arrived, to avoid it seeming weird.

Sadly his plan backfired when Finn, somehow, got lost in a literacy piece saved on his datapad, he almost read most of the night away. Finally taking note of the time, he darted to the bar. Getting there and he instantly noticed Poe wasn’t up on his stage.

Every bit of that anxiety from during the day abruptly made Finn’s heart think he’d been struck by lightning. And then he spotted Poe in the corner by the bar and felt like an idiot.

Sat alone, Poe was leant forward on his elbows slipping a drink of something. The singer’s split lip was visible from right across the room, a distinctive dark line running down his bottom lip. All his bruises, on the other hand, were hidden under clothes. Although, Finn took note of the way Poe shifted slightly when he sat on his stool a certain way.

Finn decided he would take the walk over to also search for Slip but the same arduous results prevailed. This determination for finding his friend felt like it was crumbling apart, there were only so many times he’d be able to put up with searching and not finding, not that Finn had really thought about what to say when he did find Slip again.

Arriving at Poe’s side didn’t attract his attention, so Finn placed a light tap on Poe’s shoulder and said, ‘hey.’

Poe gradually looked his way as if he didn’t want to be bothered. But the second he’d realised who’d spoke, his face lit up with a smile. ‘Hey,’ he said.

Finn pointed to the stool next to him. ‘Is that seat taken?’

‘Yes,’ Poe said and then immediately closed his eyes as if overcome with pain. Finn would have asked him if he was okay but Poe hastily continued speaking, ‘I mean yes as in it is free please sit down if you want to.’

Opening his eyes again, Poe sipped his drink as Finn arranged himself and sat down. ‘How are your bruises?’ Finn said, after throwing a glance at Poe’s side. He didn’t know what he hoped to see since they remained covered over with clothing.

Poe raised a nonchalant eyebrow and shrugged. ‘Not much better than what they were yesterday, unfortunately,’ he said, turning to look Finn in the eye and, surprisingly, place a hand on his shoulder. ‘But thank you for asking.’

‘Huh!’ the bartender abruptly said from behind the bar in front of them. It made Finn jump a little. ‘I’ve been asking all night and I don’t get a thank you.’ She began furiously cleaning the bar surface around them, raising Poe’s glass with one hand and wiping with the other.

‘Oh I’m so sorry, Jessika,’ Poe said with a dramatic clutch of his chest. There was a tone change in his voice that told Finn, he was most likely joking. ‘Would like me to make up to you by dedicating my next song to your generosity and kindness?’

The bartender, Jessika, made an unconvinced face. ‘It would be a start,’ she said in a similar tone, beginning to smile. She leaned forward towards Poe on the bar surface top.

They shared a moment of smiling at each other, before Poe, seemingly remembering Finn’s presence, turned to him and gestured his way. ‘Uh, Jessika this is Finn.’ He threw the same gesture towards the bartender. ‘Finn, Jessika Pava.’

That fuzzy feeling returned at being introduced with his new nickname. Finn looked at Jessika and, smiling, said, ‘hi.’ To be truthful, he was a little miffed with her about not showing up to help Poe the night previous, especially since what happened had to him, had happened just outside her bar. But then who was he to judge a person he didn’t know? She could have already left the bar by the time Poe got cornered or perhaps didn’t want to get involved to save herself getting hurt. Finn knew it wouldn’t be right to hold a grudge. How was he to know if she owed Poe anything?

So he dropped his internal frown and tried to let it go.

‘Hello, yes!’ Jessika said, eyes briefly widening. ‘You know, I’d love to stop and chat but I need to go serve.’ Already walking away, she threw up her hands at them and made a pained expression. ‘Sorry.’

This wasn’t helping Finn’s attempt to forgive her.

Then Poe was patting him on the shoulder again and, after downing his drink in one, he said, ‘I also need to go back to singing so I can’t stay either.’

Finn really tried not to let it show how disappointed he was. ‘Oh, okay,’ he said. When he thought about it this was actually his fault for reading his datapad for so long. It was not like he wouldn’t have another night to spend talking to Jessika and Poe, anyway. Why did he keep convincing himself his time with them should be cherished? Perhaps missing Slip was really getting to him, huh?

Before he left, however, Poe leaned in close right to Finn’s ear, breath sending shivers down Finn’s spine, so presumably only he could hear Poe. ‘But my door is open if you want to come pay me a visit again.’ He then swung his head back, hand still on Finn’s shoulder. ‘Think about it.’

He didn’t need to think about it. It wasn’t an idea he planned on questioning; Poe could still need his help and Finn liked being in a part of the factory that wasn’t watching him. This was worth the risk.

Finn stayed for Poe’s music, because he was _honestly_ a good singer, but also because there was nowhere else better in choice to go and nothing else to do but wait. Finn thought of ordering something, yet he knew he wasn’t ready to talk with Jessika just yet. Forgiving people was hard, but when you create the arguments yourself, it’s no wonder things don’t come to an end easily.

The curfew alarm rang a few seconds after Poe finished his current song. They seemed to choose that moment to directly look at each other across the room, silently informing the other of their motives of action.

Finn left with the other workers. Deliberately dawdling to the back of the crowd and then, with no one looking, he darted back around the previous corner. He crossed paths with a few workers on the way to Poe’s but none of them appeared to take much notice of him, minding their own business as he was for them.

Finally arriving at Poe’s door, he thought it best to knock so he did.

Poe answered after a couple of seconds and smiled, welcoming Finn inside. ‘Would you like something to drink? I noticed you didn’t order anything from Jessika,’ he said, heading over to his kitchen area.

Finn watched him retrieve two glasses, contemplating. He’d never eaten or drank anything outside of the factory’s routine before. He wondered if it would do something harmful to his body, but then realised this was stupid because the workers in Jessika’s bar did it all the time and they were fine. Plus he would often see Officials eating small pieces during their patrols of Level Two.

From the ensuing silence of a non-answer, Poe had turned to him and raised an expectant eyebrow, making Finn quickly add, ‘I-I’ll have what you’re having,’ without proper thinking.

Consequently, Poe didn’t appear satisfied with that answer, slumping over and mumbling, ‘I was hoping you would choose for me,’ while heading towards the fridge.

Finn got the feeling he wasn’t meant to have heard that and, therefore, let Poe pull out a random carton of juice, instead of giving an answer he wanted. After filling their glasses, Poe picked them up in each hand and ushered Finn over to his soft chair.

They sat down and Poe handed him his glass.

Each taking a sip before Finn then asked, feeling he should check, ‘so, do you need me to put any more stuff on your bruises?’

‘Oh no, it only really needs to be done once,’ Poe said, shifting oddly again, like Finn had seen him do on one of the stools in the bar. He pulled his jacket round his chest more, clearly for support on his ribs since there was no chill in the air.

‘Is there anything else I can do to help?’ Finn said. Feeling he couldn’t say this next bit to Poe’s face, he looked down at his drink and tilted the glass to make the liquid slosh about. ‘I was pretty was worried last night about you and trying to get to bed in your condition.’ A silence followed his statement, which is what he’d been worried about. He glanced up from his glass to find Poe staring at him. Anxious, Finn gave him an expression that hopefully told Poe to say something.

Poe opened his mouth but no sound came out at first. ‘Oh… wow… um, no, there isn’t much else for you to do for me,’ he said, eventually. ‘But thanks for the concern, buddy.’ Poe placed his hand firmly on Finn’s shoulder again and that warm fuzzy feeling resurfaced inside of Finn, despite his lack of knowledge on the word Poe had used.

‘Buddy?’ Finn said, frowning. ‘What does that mean?’

The smile on Poe’s face disappeared instantly. ‘It’s another word for friend, Finn,’ he said, gently. He moved his hand back and joined it with the other one on his glass. ‘Have you never heard it before?’

‘No,’ Finn said. In fact, he hadn’t heard of lots of things in Poe’s life. Finn didn’t really know why that was; the factory had educated him since his day of birth, but he saw no reason for them to hold important things from him. His place was not in the outside world, they had said, that was why he remained here to work.

Yet the chair they were sat on, for example, he didn’t have a name for that. If this juice they were drinking had a name he didn’t know it either. The only food and drink he’d heard the names of was what they served to him in the mess hall. Poe’s instrument, for another example, Finn knew it was used to make music, similar objects appeared in his literacy pieces, but its specific name had never been told to him. These objects did him no harm and yet he couldn’t see a reason for not being informed of their existence and function.

Finn thought of asking Poe about all this but doubted he would have the right answer; Captain Phasma was more the correct person to ask yet still not one he _wanted_ to ask either.

Instead Finn said, realising, ‘does that make me your friend then?’

Smiling as much as his lip would let him, Poe said, ‘if you wanna be?’

Finn might as well have considered his friend with Slip pretty lost, although he wasn’t giving up just yet. He was more than happy to embrace his friendship with Poe, however. ‘Actually, I do,’ he said, firmly.

The smile stayed on Poe’s face as he said, ‘how long have you got here?’

‘Same as last time,’ Finn said, shrugging. ‘About an hour I’d say.’

So they spent the next half an hour talking to each other on Poe’s soft chair and drinking juice. Finn made it back to the Finance Hall, datapad on his person, a little earlier than yesterday, either that or else the queue was moving slower than the previous day. Predictably, the Finance person updated his credits with the same indifference and the Officials in the room shot him the same dirty looks. Finn wondered if this was how they were paid to act.

He slept a little softer that night, which he needed as his work only became tougher. Once he had learnt the basics of all the tools and positions in Level Two, Nines left Finn to his own devices. In actual fact, most of the workers in the room did that to him as well; it seemed silly but he got a sense of an unspoken hostility from everyone, although, as much as he thought, he couldn’t figure what he’d done wrong.

In any case, at least seeing Poe and Jessika meant visiting friendly faces.

Poe looked surprised upon opening the door to Finn that night; he let him in, nonetheless. They hadn’t spoken in the bar and Poe seemed too lost in his music to take true note of Finn’s arrival. When it turned out he’d showed up after Poe’s break, Finn had been very content with just watching Poe play. Doing the same on the times when he managed to show up before, him, Jessika and Poe would gather in the corner and talk, which was nice.

Poe must have thought Finn was coming back to his flat simply to check on his injuries, since he spoke of the progress of his bruises at the beginning of every visit. He never lifted up his shirt again to show them however, and Finn couldn’t tell whether if he thought that was a good or bad thing.

Some days, he missed his chance to meet up completely, either from getting lost in his literacy reading or because the Officials had made it far too difficult to sneak back to Poe’s flat during credit collection. Poe would ask him the reason each time the next day. The first time it happened made Finn realise how strange it was for him to be breaking the rules like this; he’d never been much of a troublemaker worker, especially since he knew what happened to those who were.

Therefore, he abruptly became aware of the fact he hadn’t given a big part of this much thought, working mostly off excuses rather than justified reasoning.

It eventually got to the point where Finn was heading to visit Poe every single evening and he wasn’t surprised by that.

Finn’s ID pass to Level Two showed up at last but it still meant he got to go outside to get there so he wasn’t as bothered by its arrival as he predicted he would be.

One day a bit of the piping hot chain caught on Finn’s wrist and he came to Poe’s with a sizeable skin burn. Having not been to the bar during the evening and instead searching for a way of cleaning his wound or at least keeping it from getting dirtier, he had failed both and come to Poe’s as soon as he could.

Poe eyed his arm suspiciously because Finn was stood there holding it in the other. At last processing what had happened, his face instantly filled with sympathy. Silent, he took Finn to his sink, cleaning the burn as best he could, drying it, applying a cool cream from one of his cupboards, before dressing it with a bandage. He tore off a section of his bed sheet and tied rather badly to make it look homemade.

Finally finished, Poe moved away to clean up, but Finn caught hold of his hand and gave it a brief squeeze to say thank you. The burn had really hurt and the fact that none of the other workers seemed to care had somehow made it feel worse. There was no place to go in the factory for this sort thing, so, other than what he could find himself, Poe had been his only option.

Poe looked at his hand in confusion and then up to Finn’s face. Upon seeing his expression, he smiled gently and squeezed back to say you’re welcome.

They were sat on Poe’s soft chair when Finn said, ‘there’s a lot of flats in this section. Does anyone else live here?’

‘Yep,’ Poe said. ‘Jessika, the bartender. She lives down the corridor.’

For the next few nights, perched on the kitchen surface top, Poe would untie Finn’s bandages to clean his wound, and apply more of that nice cream, then retying the bandages after a wash and leaning down to press his lips briefly against the dodgy bow on top.

First time around, Finn stared at him in confusion. Frozen from the shivers this action sent shooting up his spine. ‘What did you just do to it?’ he said.

‘What? Do you mean this?’ Poe leaned down and did it again, of course he would.

Finn couldn’t take it a second time and he needed to look away. It was making the hairs on his arm stand on end. ‘Um, yeah,’ he said, voice not keeping as even as he would want.

‘It’s just a kiss. That’s what my mamá used to do,’ Poe said, turning to put the cream away. ‘Helps the healing process, I promise.’

Finn meant to ask more about what kisses were but Poe’s last statement pushed his chain of thought in a different direction. ‘I didn’t have one of those,’ he said, head down.

‘What's a mamá?’ Finn nodded and Poe said, ‘everyone has a mamá, Finn. It’s how we are brought into this world.’

He didn’t know if he would ever find out whether that was true or not, but then again with Poe’s hand on his shoulder and that smile aimed in his direction him anything seemed possible. Even a mamá who probably didn’t exist anymore.

Finn let that memory keep him warm the next day when Captain Phasma appeared in Level Two at the end of last shift, requesting his presence in her office again. Positive it was about his burn and its apparently excellent recovery, he did his best to hide Poe’s bandage under his tatty grey sleeve.

Captain Phasma’s thick boots clicking on the floor echoed all the way down the corridor to her office and her black cape, probably cleaned and pressed every day, hung from her shoulders with the usual pride. She led Finn inside and indicated to that uncomfortable chair with the flash of a silver finger. ‘Sit,’ she said. Today there was to be no long regarding stare that made Finn feel like Phasma was burrowing into his soul. Both a relief and very surprising. She linked her hands together on the table and said, ‘FN-2187.’

It physically pierced clear through his body to hear the sound of his old name. Finn knew he didn’t stop himself in time from cringing slightly and hoped Captain Phasma would make nothing of it.

She’d obviously noticed, she had been looking right at him, plus the Captain’s job was to notice everything. But Phasma carried on her sentence as if nothing of such had occurred. ‘I didn’t think I would be having this meeting with you so soon but your work is so _very_ exception.’ Finn may have been incorrect but, Captain Phasma appeared to be genuinely _happy_ – nearly proud – as she pulled her datapad into her lap and began skimming through the information on the screen. When he dared the tiniest glance at her face, her eyes were sparkling. ‘Even General Hux himself is considering a meeting, if you keep this up.’

In the unexpected silence that followed Finn blurted out a ‘thank you, Captain,’ to avoid becoming rude.

‘As you may have guessed I am moving you up to Level Three.’

Finn hadn’t guessed this at all, in fact; he’d only been working in Level Two for barely four months at that and, after all this time he still hadn’t fully adjusted to the conditions of the Level. It didn’t help that once he got even the slightest hang of something, all help would be completely cut off, or else he believed he would feel a lot more prepared for this new predicament. A part of him was starting to wish why couldn’t this meeting have actually been about the burn on his arm.

‘Unlike before, however, you have a week’s notice,’ Phasma said. ‘This level will be the hardest you have seen so far, therefore, I’m arranging for an Official to give you a full introduction to the entire floor _before_ you start there, instead of from just another worker _while_ you’re there.’

‘Thank you, Captain.’

Phasma finally looked up from her datapad and then put it down on her desk. Resting her chin on her fingers, she watched him. ‘Make me proud, FN-2187,’ she said, ‘and great opportunities will be heading in your direction.’

‘Of course, Captain. I will,’ Finn said, impassively.

‘You are dismissed.’ A flick of silver and her attention was already directed elsewhere.

‘Thank you, Captain,’ Finn said, regardless, before he stood up and left.

Poe didn’t take this news well but then again someone needed to feel something. He seemed to sulk about it for the rest of the evening, playing a bunch of slow and sad songs after the break when Finn had told him. Jessika, on the other hand, was just shocked that Finn had even moved up to Level Two at his age, let alone was now moving to Level Three so quickly. She offered him a free bowl of broth but Finn kindly declined. To that she revealed she couldn’t really give them out for free and would have had to pay for it herself, secretly and out of her own pocket. Good thing he’d declined then, Finn thought.

Not only was Level Three harder than the previous two, it was also the largest Finn had seen so far. He still needed to walk outside to get there and back each day, so that wasn’t taken from him. However, everything else seemed to be taken once he started the work. Energy, clear breathing, and the ability to listen to the worker’s chat amongst themselves, the work load was much greater, the room was much dirty, and another platform had been made to rest above them, allowing the Officials to roam about on and watch them.

The introduction he’d been given wasn’t enough to prepare for Level Three and it didn’t help that the Official assigned had been the same one who had escorted him before his ID was made. She gave vague explanations on most of the parts and jobs within the room. Here, they took the pure ore and modelled it into shapes and objects to be transported onto Level Four. There were four ways of doing this and all involved hammering of some degree and lots of heat. Finn was thankfully when the lazy Official once again assigned another worker to help him until he got his footing.

FN-2ooo was the worker’s identification but, like Nines from the previous level, he insisted everyone call him the nickname of Zeroes. He shared Finn’s dark complexion, however, a large pinkish scar ran down his left cheek. Zeroes told him with broad shoulders and shining eyes that he had gotten this scar from working here and that made something uncomfortable settle in Finn’s stomach because he didn’t want to gain a scar like that too, especially since he already had one. He didn't want the First Order to mark him any more than they had already.

The first day was long and very tiring, leaving Finn’s bones with an ache that seemed to reach all the way down to his core and it only got worse as the days carried on. So it felt wonderful, at the end of the week, when he arrived at Poe’s and the first thing Poe said upon seeing him was ‘have I got a surprise for you.’

‘Really? What?’ Finn managed to say before Poe gently took both of his hands and led him to his bed.

There, resting on top of the messy sheets, was a small thick disc of metal. Fine grooves were set into the upright surface and three antennae, which curved around along its sides, stuck out at different points. Finn had no idea what this object was or what it did, or even its name but that was a given. He turned to Poe for an explanation.

‘Jessika was organising through her old things and she came across this,’ he said. Picking up the metal disc, he held it out on his palm to let Finn get a closer look. ‘It’s a holo-recorder and she said I could keep it.’

‘What does it do?’

‘Records things,’ Poe said, a giddy smile spread across his face. He brought the holo-recorder back towards him and began fiddling with the buttons on the back. ‘Unfortunately this one only stretches to the audio but with what I had in mind, it’s not a problem. I recorded this.’ With one last button pushed, Poe placed the holo-recorder down on his bed again and stood beside Finn.

They listened as, bit by bit, the sound came through the thin slits on top and started to fill the entire flat with noise.

It didn’t take long for Finn to recognise what he was listening to. ‘It’s you… playing your instrument?’ he said. That gentle plucking of strings which seemed to find a special way inside of Finn’s soul and, once there, bloom into a range of emotions that gradually infected his whole physical being. There had to be a word for what he was feeling, he struggled so hard to find a way to explain it, even to himself.

‘Yeah.’ Poe’s smile had uncovered a way to grow even greater. ‘So _now_ we have something to dance to,’ he said, stepping back and holding out his hand. Back on the day when Poe introduced Finn to his instrument, what it did and how he got it, he had mentioned something about wanting to dance with Finn but also said they needed the help of some music. Obviously Poe wouldn’t have been able to play and dance at the same time, but now that problem was solved.

Finn regarded him for a moment. ‘You’re aware of the fact I have no idea how to dance, Poe,’ he said.

‘Yes,’ Poe said. Unyielding, he shifted around and held up his other hand as well. ‘But I would like to teach you, if you’ll let me.’

Finn took Poe’s hands. ‘Sure,’ he said. ‘But don’t hold it against me if I’m terrible.’

‘I wouldn’t dream of it. Now put your arm around my neck.’ Poe said as he brought Finn’s right hand up and placed it on his shoulder.

With anticipation, Finn slowly did as Poe asked and put his arm over Poe’s shoulder, just reaching the hairs on the back of his neck, whilst Poe slid a hand onto Finn’s waist, pulling them flush together, chest to chest. They were so close Finn could see little specks of fluff in Poe’s beard. When they were this near to each other last time, Poe had actually smelt quite unpleasant, but this time Finn relaxed after a much nicer smell entered his nose. In fact he kind of liked it, however a big part of him said definitely not to tell Poe this.

‘We hold these hands out here,’ Poe said. He twisted his hand around to hold Finn’s in the right position and then extended them out to their side. Almost bumping heads to look down, Poe said, ‘you move your feet with mine like this, in a pattern.’

There were about five or six simple steps which took them around in a small circle across the floor. Timing was important, Finn needed to step after Poe but not put his foot back down before Poe or else he would stand on him. Then there was also the whole eventuality of them bumping knees when Finn stepped in the wrong direction.

Gradually he got the hang of it enough that they disappeared into a mutual hush of concentration, the holo-recorder the only sound in the room, besides Poe’s thumping heartbeat.

Finn spent most of this time with his head directed downwards, trying his damnedest not to step on Poe’s feet. Unfortunately, this didn’t stop it from happening a couple of times. But Poe didn’t seem to mind, even the one time when he yelped, simply informing Finn this had been his idea and he shouldn’t have suggested it if he wasn’t prepared to sacrifice his toes.

‘ _Ahhhh_ …’ Poe’s voice was deep and thick as it suddenly came through the holo-recorder. Finn thought he would start singing then, but immediately realised that wasn’t the case since he followed it up with, ‘ _fuck me in the arse…. Screwed up that stupid note. Come on, Dameron, you were supposed to make this perfect for Finn... Ugh, he’s gonna kill me_.’

Finn bit his lip and buried his face in Poe’s shoulder to avoid laughing, receiving a large whiff of Poe’s smell.

With a disconcerted grunt Poe did the same on other side of Finn, before bringing his head back up to rest his chin on Finn’s shoulder. ‘Sorry... Forgot I did that. Should have recorded over it,’ he said, sheepishly.

‘No, it’s… it’s fine, Poe.’ Finn couldn’t hold his laugh in any longer and let the chuckle vibrate through his body, turning his mouth outwards so he didn’t laugh right in Poe’s ear and deafen him. ‘I thought it was kind of funny,’ he said.

‘Clearly.’

Finn pulled his head so he could look Poe directly in the eyes as he said, ‘genuinely, this is nice. Thank you for this.’ And the effort was well awarded when Poe’s grin made his tummy flip over tenfold.

A month later and, right on cue, Captain Phasma summoned him back to her office once again and told Finn he would be moving up to the final Level. By this point he wasn’t very surprised anymore.

Well, Level Four was by far the least staffed and the cleanest of all the levels, with great white walls and shiny stainless metal machines. There were five other workers, besides Finn himself, maintaining the flow of product, sorting through packaged product and ensuring the right product was heading to the right destination.

At first glanced this appeared to be the most simple of the Levels. However, on close inspection everything became complicated. Once those machines got going, their momentum needed to be constantly maintained and it was hard to keep up, meaning mistakes could cost the factory important time. Packaged product was stored in a specific order that stretched out over the course of the entire day, so it needed to be checked and sustained thoroughly before the vehicles gradually arrived to take it away. A special office lay in the corner for organisation of the product distribution, and it was sound proofed because absolute concentration was needed to do this.

Finn told Poe of his first day as soon as he arrived and Poe’s only comment on the matter was ‘good. At least you won’t get burnt again.’

After Finn’s now quieter work during the day and Poe’s singing slowly enterprising in the evening, their time together became slightly easier to enjoy. Since it would always be this limited time period, they’d refined methods to gain the maximum time capacity possible. There was no clock in the bar meaning Finn still relied on the curfew alarm as a starting point but he found no trouble perfecting the ability to squeeze himself inside those gaps in the wall and wait for the worker crowd to disappear. Poe went once the bar was clear and left his flat door open. It became a part of their day. They had gained a routine and they liked it. Every so often another knock resonated from the door and Jessika would join them for the last ten minutes because she’d managed to lock up the bar in time.

However, things weren’t always perfect. Sometimes Poe would be distant and irritable and Finn would be tired and indifferent. They would snap at each other, even argue – although always finding the time to apologise and make up afterwards. Finn didn’t really know what to do when Poe was like that. He desperately wanted to, though, because he could see it hurt Poe more than him.

There were some days when Poe looked at him like he wasn’t even there, in fact. So Finn would ask him occasionally, if Poe thought he was real, and Poe’s eye would narrow every time he raised the question, like he pondered the exact same thing and was surprised at the coincidence.

Then one day Finn said, ‘I don’t think I was real until I met you.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW that I know nothing about how steel is made in a factory so please note that any comments containing info about how to do it properly will be immediately deleted. I tried to make it as logical as possible so I’m not in the mood for your righteousness and lack of imagination, Buckley. Thank you and good day.
> 
> Next chapter is Rey (plus a little bit from Finn)
> 
> Why did no one tell me you can get a Funko Pop of Finn with a lightsaber?! I so would have got it instead of my other one


	3. Rey (+ Finn)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I based Rey’s outfit off [this](http://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e8/14/a5/e814a577908856730e8166e036a0865a.jpg)

When Rey went to sleep at night she dreamed of silence. More specifically, she dreamed of the freedom, one she could gain while she was utterly alone with her thoughts. Even during the times that were meant to be quiet around here, it could be terribly hard to think against the back drop of the humming slums. No wonder, when it had made up the largest part of city.

Tonight, Rey laid awake in her cot, eyes open and cast up towards the ceiling, as the never ending hustle and bustle vibrated down into the brick walls of her tiny home.

Jakku, as it had been promptly named by the First Order, spread out from along the vast river that ran through the centre of the city. The river probably had a First Order name too but, to those on this side in Jakku, it was known as The Divider since it divided the bountiful rich and depraved poor areas of the land. Affluent in minerals and wildlife, the water of The Divider was highly plentiful and that led to an even greater dichotomy in of itself, with the richest rich, orderly expanded out amid dream house after dream house, residing on one side and the barely prosperous of poor, cramped and huddled together so no space lay left unclaimed, on the other.

Life had become so desperate in Jakku that only those who lived next to the river ever saw the river. The same case manifested with using water from the Divider, meaning all liquid had to be imported from an outside source; this place may as well have been a desert for all she knew. But, no matter what, all nearby could always hear the Divider, therefore Rey never needed to worry that it had dried up or vanished one day without her noticing.

She couldn’t hear it now, thankfully. That would be another annoyance added to the many maddening things which were disturbing her sleep tonight, gathering exponentially above her head like static. Huffing, Rey rolled onto her side and searched out against the darkness for the outline of her front door. She outstretched her hand and easily found her staff resting where she’d left it beside her bed. Her fingers slid slowly over the cool metal until they reached the rough bandages wrapped around at two points for secure handle holds. Rey moved her fingers along the bottom hold, closing her eyes and letting the callus, dry material take her mind away to someplace else.

Someplace silent.

Her mornings always came in small, gentle segments as the Sun crawled gradually up her body through the window on the wall opposite. Rey awoke first when the Sunlight touched the skin of her feet. Over the years, her body had learnt to be awake whenever the sunlight could or would be reaching it to stop her from falling asleep while climbing. Consequently the next time Rey awoke was when the sunlight touched her bare hands, both balancing equally atop her waist. She often found them in a clenched position, fingers twitching and curling inwards, almost like they trying to reach out and grasp something in her sleep. The last time Rey awoke was when the sunlight reached her face, blinding, strong light piercing through her eyelids and jumpstarting her day.

Quickly gathering together her tools and staff, Rey needed to be ready and out the door to avoid the daily rush of all the other scavengers, such as herself. She made her way, _quietly_ , up the duracrete stairs outside her home and along the corridor which lay onwards. Other homes lined the path of this corridor, some without solid entrances, and even though only a few were also scavengers, Rey didn’t want to risk rousing them if she could help it.

Niima Outpost was where her daily journey began and where her home resided. The outpost covered a few homes such as her own and the yard outside, connecting them all together, and holding the residences of the washing stations and the trades building. Named after a substantially large hotel owner, Rey remembered her from the first year she’d been left in Jakku. Rough demeanour and quick to anger but kind when desperately needed, Niima gave out honest jobs to any willing to work and had paid them with real credits. Unlike the current owner who was just sour all year round, and after taking away the hotel, set up a shop instead, where he could trade junk for more junk or worthy junk for food portions.

Unkar Plutt, a man equally large in size, had shown up a couple of years before The First Order gained the political power they had now, but once under their rule, he’d blossomed in the bustling rise of big business and industrialisation. Niima blossomed too however, something not to be forgotten, and looked to be thriving nearly just as much as Unkar.

Until someone came along and put a blaster bullet through her head.

And then things became what they were now, Unkar at the top of the food chain, in charge and no one else.

With the awful snow reflecting light straight off the ground, so it came from down as well as up, Rey held her hand up as she emerged from the duracrete entrance of the passage leading to where she lived. Now a cold breeze twirling through the air, Rey noted that she needed to acquire more layers. The Outpost washing stations completely empty and the trades building deserted this time in the morning, she crossed its large dusty yard and headed into the spider web of street paths, one of which led to a bridge over The Divider. From there, Rey would head into the back alleyways of the rich person’s city.

See, all these new businesses loved to make pretty and expensive things for all their pretty and expensive people to buy. However, if even a small part of one of their pretty and expensive things was broken, or didn’t work, or simply wasn’t up to scratch compared to all the other pretty and expensive things, they threw it away.

A pointless waste, many might think, but not for Rey. This was her livelihood. She lived for all the discarded pretty and expensive things she could get her hands on, anything to trade with Unkar for food portions.

The down side, however, was the danger of retrieving said things. Because so many places made so many pretty and expensive things, objects could gather in quite large piles round the back-ends of their respective buildings. These piles could be dangerous to traverse, especially with the snow making almost every surface slimy and slippery; Rey never knew how stable her foot holds were or if something at the bottom would be about to shift at any given moment and send the entire pile crashing to the ground. Yet this was her life and she had to find a way around these dangers each day.

To counteract the traversing pile problem, Rey never climbed up a pile that was higher than her staff when she held it right up in the air and instead chose then to climb the wall next to it. Also if something inside the pile didn’t slip out in one smooth motion, Rey made sure she wasn’t on the pile when she tried to yank it out again.

All that she called her own, she had scavenged. The staff swung over her shoulder, the tools in her bag, along with the bag itself, and the clothes and boots on her body. From the grey shirt to the leather double belt that secured a large scarf wrapped around in a cross on the top half of her body, everything she had made to fit herself from scarps, bar the trousers. Rey had found the cream coloured trousers intact from a shop that made pretty and expensive clothes. Despite them only reaching to half way down her calf, it had been a good find. One she would have traded with Unkar, had it not been for the fact she’d needed a new pair of trousers at the time.

Unkar was a miserable and malcontent trader. What he considered _worthy of a fair trade_ needed to be far too perfect than what was physically possible in the given situation. Rey knew she wasn’t the only one around who had issues with his terms but, in the end, they all kept it to themselves.

The Sun wasn’t any much higher by the time she reached the first back alley piles. Rey spotted a few other early scavengers and chose to avoid those piles. She wanted to be alone. No one could ever predict what kind of mood Unkar was in, so Rey often made sure to get a few pieces from the other types of junk. Along the way to the city centre, she picked up the stained front part to some denim trousers and an oversized jacket missing its arms and buttons from a couple of clothes shop back alleys.

A large car factory resided near the rich city centre, where it made so much junk that it needed a large yard at its rear end to contain it all. This was Rey’s main destination for today. The factory made new cars every day, but at the beginning of each month was when they had their previous month’s rubbish collected and transported out of the city. So any old or picked-clean junk disappeared to be replaced by brand new plentiful junk, ripe for the taking.

From the day’s work, Rey picked up a spark plug without any of the spiralled ridges along the top, an intact wing mirror where the only thing wrong with it was a cracked mirror screen, and a blank number plate with a large bend on one of the corners. Towards the back of the yard, someone had prised open a gearbox and left it out by the bottom of a pile – admissible since gearboxes would be too heavy to carry back to Unkar without a wheeled raft or speeder. Rey wished she had something like that then she’d be able to bring bigger loads back to Unkar but, for now, she scavenged what she could out of the box before finally heading back.

She would have stayed out a little longer, but by late-afternoon, a few of the scavengers began panicking and squawking about a First Order police search heading in their direction, so Rey called it a day and headed back across over The Divider to Jakku, rather safe than sorry.

She never knew for certain what it was in people, these police were really searching for. She’d heard from someone down the line, they were looking for anyone with Jedi descendancy in them. Then, if they found that, they would beat you up and take you away to no one knew where. All the rich folk must have had this part of their identity accounted for because Rey only ever saw the police taking the poor folk. She could tell from the clothes, if a little torn, when they were paraded around the streets sometimes, with signs hanging from their shoulders. Rey remembered a discussion she’d overheard about it all at the washing stations, one day. One person had asked why the police didn’t just raid Jakku if they were so desperate for Jedi and another person had explained it was because the poor were needed by the rich to clear out their rubbish, and so the police only caught the Jedi which they had to catch while they were over there, in the rich part of the city.

Coming back to the washing stations full was a miserable thing to find, regardless of the day’s endeavours. To wait for a space in the queue meant waiting in the Sun and, even though Winter was on the way out, the white clouds only served to make the sunlight sharper and the snow made it feel like a second Sun resided on the ground.

Luckily Rey had things she could fix at home: the number plate, for one, just needed a few good bangs from a hammer to get that corner flat again; she had a few spare buttons lying around and sewed them onto the jacket at very far apart points while she waited for a free place in the washing stations.

Once finally there, she washed and scrubbed the oil and dirt off the spark plug, gearbox components, and now-flat number plate. Setting up a large pot of cleaner and water, Rey left the jean fronts to soak and used the spare time to prise free the broken mirror screen from her wing mirror with a tool from her bag.There was one particularly stubborn shard stuck in the corner, refusing to budge, and Rey had her face right up to the wing mirror frame when a shape from across the benches suddenly caught her attention.

It was an old lady, same hair colour and skin tone as Rey’s own, scrubbing away ferociously at another simple car piece. They shared no other distinctive features so Rey couldn’t figure out why the image of this woman working away kept her gaze secured for so a long time. Perhaps it could be the essence of her own mortality creeping up on her and asking would she really be doing this trivial work for the rest of her life until the final breath of air escaped her lungs.

A loud bash on the table from the impatient washing stations Warden snapped Rey back to reality and she quickly returned to her stubborn mirror shard.

Unkar traded the gearbox components for two bottles of water, the re-bent number plate for half a food potion, the empty wing mirror for three full food portions – even though it was clearly worth at least five – luckily accepted the highly-washed jeans and armless jacket for three half food portions, and rejected the spark plug, since without the spiralled ridges it was useless, and it would cost too much to get them engraved than was necessary.

Taking what she’d been given, Rey headed home.

After marking the day on her wall, adding to the millions of other marks there, she knew she was hungry from the day’s work and wasted no time in opening one of her half portions. Pouring powder from the smallest section into a bowl with a little water, Rey pushed it around with her finger until the liquid began to sizzle and pop before growing inexplicably into a loaf of bread. The contents of larger sections needed to be cooked and Rey plopped them into her already boiling cooking pot over the fire. Once cooked through, she collected the mix in a bowl, grabbed a cup of water and climbed up onto the ledge sticking out of the wall by her high window.

Perched on this ledge, Rey sighed and ate her bread.

Hadn’t the First Order said, somewhere, they were going to make this country great again? Five years in power, and Rey was yet to see this greatness so far.

Gulping down her drink and licking the bowl clean, Rey put her plates to the side and shuffled closer to her window. She picked up the dark leather pilot hat she kept there and put it on, for no particular reason than just because. The flaps against the sides of her face hung down far too low but the goggles, if a little stiff, had adjustable straps so when she put them over her eyes, they stayed where they were supposed to.

Life wasn’t all bad here. Hey, at least suffering through it day-after-day would be worth it in the end, when her family returned to collect her again. None of them really had faces anymore, when she closed her eyes the only thing she could picture was the back of this fancy car getting further and further and no matter how loud or hard she screamed, it never stopped or came back. She didn’t even know if the memory was real. What she could remember for definite, though, was that she was abandoned at the age of six and this had been nine years ago. Through these years, she’d kept her hair in the same three bun style she’d been left in, so when her family finally did return, they would recognise her straight away.

An abrupt commotion on the other side of her door brought Rey crashing back to reality. All sorts of sounds managed to find their way down here, echoing off the duracrete walls, so she doubted it would be right outside her door. Nonetheless alert, she flung the pilot hat and goggles off and leaped down to grab her staff, feeling the tingles shoot up her calves from jumping down too great a height.

Opening the door to her flat, Rey held the staff in front of her as she slowly ascended the duracrete stairs. A little way down the corridor, and an orange and white cat appeared, persuaded by a very _rabid_ dog.

After the cat zoomed past her, Rey slammed her staff down vertically on the ground, narrowly missing the dog’s snout, and then when it turned its snarling, open mouth towards her, she braced herself for a fight.

Further up the passage someone was calling out for the dog in the Mother tongue of the Goddess R’iia. ‘Teedo. Teedo. Have you caught the hungry bitch yet—?’ Spotting Rey, this someone immediately froze. Rey recognised them instantly as Gray the short, old man from down the road who traded certain metals for fruit, which he grew in his back garden. It should have been obvious from the dog but Rey had never seen Teedo this angry before. ‘Oh Rey, I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware— I didn’t know—’ Gray said, wary. His fragile, old frame would be no match for Rey’s sturdy young build. ‘Caught the bitch gorging on Teedo’s dinner, but I didn’t know I was hunting _your_ cat, Rey, I swear.’

‘They’re not mine,’ Rey spoke back in the same language. She eyed the cat, now curling around the back of her legs, and mused how easy it was to gain their trust. Teedo suddenly growled at them sharply and Rey threw a warning swing near towards its head. ‘But your mutt is going to leave them alone, nonetheless.’

‘Of course. Of course,’ Gray said, almost bowing. ‘Come, Teedo.’ The dog stayed in the same place, teeth bared, meaning Gray had to walk awkwardly forward and grab a piece of its thick mane to then drag it away. ‘ _Come_.’

Rey waited until owner and mutt were completely out of sight before finally lowering her staff. She looked down at the cat and watched them start to rub up against the bare skin of her calf, purring. ‘You’re welcome,’ she said, not bitterly but not gently either. Rey then stepped away to stop them canoodling her boots any further and made it back to her flat without looking back, because, to be honest, she thought that would be the last she’d ever see of this cat. This turned out not to be the case.

Over the years, Rey had acquired and put together enough materials and parts to make herself handy little travelling simulator. The idea sprouted from a find, not two or three years ago, of an old cracked, but working, small TV screen. Rey would have simply traded the screen in with Unkar – he always gave more for working junk – had she not also found that day a set of data chips. Only one appeared to be not cracked or snapped and when Rey finally managed to scavenge all the electrical components needed to rig it up to the screen, she discovered the chip to be a travelling simulator. There were several different levels, all with different types of vehicles and environments, land, sea, and air, from a truck driving through snow and ice to a large pressure airship flying over the desert and sea. After much deliberation, the simulator seemed far more entertaining than valuable, so Rey decided in the end to keep it.

She’d been absolutely terrible at first, crashing in some form or other, moments after each level started. But Rey simply refused to be beaten down and defeated by a machine she had put together with her own two hands, and, with nothing else to pass the time, had perceived on and on until she gradually grew better.

This happened to be what she was playing on, one unexpected snowed in afternoon, when for the first time in her life, Rey heard scratching at her door.

Her immediate response was to freeze, causing the current simulation BSA Ten to crash for the first time in what must have been months. Rey’s head then shot round in the direction of the door and she wondered how long it would take for her to grab her staff.

Not waiting for this intruder to gain the upper hand, Rey darted towards her staff, rolling over her bed and coming up next to her door. With her body flat against the wall next to it, she gripped her staff tight in one hand and slowly reached for the handle with the other.

She flung it open and… there was no one there?

Strange.

Suddenly Rey felt a cold breeze brush past her calves. Confused, she glanced down, instinctively jumping back, and found her _intruder_.

The orange and white cat from the previous week pranced across the room like they hadn’t almost scared the living daylights out of Rey, leaped up onto her bed and then _meowed_.

Evidently, they wanted attention from being saved the other day, but – and this was not even considering the current weather conditions – Rey was just amazed they’d made it back to her home again without sprouting the same trouble as last time. This animal appeared very cushy, if all it took to gain their trust was to briefly save their life once.

‘You again?’ she said, annoyed. Rey slammed her staff onto the wall by the door and marched over to them. Flinging a pointed finger to the side, she said, ‘no. Get out. You can’t stay here,’ especially with the way they had worried her like that. Plus it was embarrassing enough on its own, to be scared by a cat. Rey hated getting into fights unless it was absolutely necessary. They always left her with troublesome cuts and unexpected bruises.

The cat didn’t move an inch; what’s more, they even had the audacity to sit down on their hind legs and begin grooming themselves.

Rey tapped her foot, frustration growing deeper by the second. ‘Come on, go. _Go_.’ She shook her pointed hand a couple of times to get the command across and shot this cat the deadliest death-stare she could invoke her body to produce.

After the beat of silence, the cat simply looked up from their licked paw and meowed again.

She hated this so much but Rey just couldn’t find it in herself to throw this animal out of her home. Something about their cheeky nature and clever thinking had her stumped.

Sighing greatly, she lowered her arm and walked over to the door, sliding it shut and picking up her discarded staff. Rey placed it back in its usual spot by the bed and then sat down next to the cat. ‘Well if you’re gonna demand to stick around here I might as well know your name.’ She pushed her fingers slowly through the fur on top of their head and received a half purr and head lean in response. ‘What’s your name, huh?’ she said. Trailing her hand down to the cat’s collar, Rey read out loud the writing on the circular, metal tag attached to. ‘BB-8. _BB-8_? What kind of name is BB-8?’ she said. ‘You’ve got a number in there like you’re some kind of robot.’

BB-8 looked up at her as if they really wanted to answer and Rey noticed there was also a small pouch along the collar frame, big enough to hold something inside. With her index finger and thumb, she pulled out a thoroughly folded piece of flimsi and, with BB-8 watching intently, carefully unfolded it.

It read: _If found lost or dead please return to Poe Dameron. No current known address_.

Rey frowned. If BB-8’s owner had no address, how was anyone supposed to get their cat back to them? It seemed silly to do such a thing if it were not possible to find them in the first place. Jakku, on its own, was too big of a place to look for someone without an address, let alone the rest of the city added into that.

Rey kept telling herself that was why her family hadn’t found her yet, because there was so much of this place to look through, they just needed more time to find her. Lying back on her cot, she ran the note through her fingers.

BB-8 came up the bed and laid down on the space beside the side of her chest.

Focusing on the feel of the dry, rough flimsi sliding over her fingertips, she began to imagine what this Poe Dameron looked like. Was he young or old? Was his skin dark or light? What was his favourite colour, favourite dish, favourite person in the world? Did he smile when it rained or was he more of a snowed in kinda guy? She wondered, most of all, if she would ever meet this man one day.

Rey got so caught up in her thoughts, she didn’t realise the note had slipped out of her hand until it landed gently on her bare forearm. She quickly snatched it up, something telling her it would be a bad idea to lose it. Then just as she was about to put it back in BB-8’s collar, an idea struck her. Grabbing a pencil from her workbench, Rey wrote a little message on the back of the note, folding it up to leave her message on the outside, and slipped it back inside the pouch.

Running her hand through BB-8’s fur one last time, she got up to switch off her travelling simulator before it drained the rest of her solar generator and when she’d done that, her stomach grumbled for the fourth time in an hour, settling the debate on whether she should eat some food so far today. Rey delved into her supplies and pulled out a half portion. She set up the stove over the fire and, once boiling, dumped the green contents of the portion into the hot water.

As she began to stir the mixture around, BB-8 came up beside her and rubbed against her bent legs. Smiling, Rey glanced down at them. ‘Does Poe not feed you enough, is that why you ran away?’ she said. ‘Or is Poe dead? Or are you just a cat that’s very desperate for a friend?’ She didn’t turn away from her cooking for long, knowing the importance of not burning any. ‘I can tell you, I know what that’s like,’ she said, solemnly. ‘Wanting people you can’t find and don’t seem to know how to find either.’

BB-8 meowed and Rey decided to take that for an answer of agreement.

She cooked the green substance through until it turned the right colour, adding an extra section of the portion towards the end for sauce and then poured the contents into a bowl. BB-8 meowed again by her feet, whilst Rey made her way over to the bed to sit down. ‘Hold on, I haven’t forgotten you.’ She got another smaller bowl out and poured a little of her soup into that. ‘I suppose you don’t eat human food.’

Rey put the bowl down in front of them and watched BB-8 sniff the meaty sludge cautiously before turning their nose away, not interested.

‘I didn’t think so,’ Rey said, picking up the bowl and downing it in one. Some of the juice dribbled down the sides over her mouth and Rey wiped them with the back of her, before licking it off her skin to avoid wasting a single drop of possibly her only meal of the day. Not knowing what the weather would turn out like in the winter, she needed to be careful with how she managed her supplies. ‘Well I’ve got nothing else for you, BB-8. I’m sorry,’ she said, after putting the spare bowl to one side and curling up against the wall at the top of her cot.

Quietly she ate her food while BB-8 explored her room. Leaping around from platform to platform, their bony figure became more apparent and Rey had a second thought that maybe Poe really was dead. She’d find out when she got a reply back from her message at least, so there was that to keep in mind.

Done exploring, BB-8 gradually made their way towards Rey’s door, meowing and scratching at the old metal.

Rey got up and walked over to open the door. After one more meow as a goodbye, she watched BB-8 bound up the duracrete stairs and disappear out of sight. ‘Make it back to Poe safely this time, okay?’ she said.

That night thankfully this Winter outburst didn’t last and the next day the Sun came out, allowing Rey to leave to scavenge again. Although almost slipping down a substantially large pile at one point, she collected a fair amount of junk and traded it in for an unfair amount of food portions. Heading back in the blinding light and freezing cold, she found her home cat free for the night. And the next night, funnily enough. And the next.

Rey tried not to keep count of how long BB-8 was gone but her day-to-day life felt so interchangeable that even one small visit from them would be interesting enough.

In the end, BB-8 didn’t return for a whole week and when Rey finally spotted the cat waiting at her door, she lost herself and let out a gentle squeal of delight, one which BB-8 picked up on. The shame washed over her instantly and she readied herself for a mocking.

But as she started to suppress her joy, BB-8 recuperated her initial excitement by bounding up the stairs towards her and running cheerful circles around her feet. Despite it, Rey didn’t struggle to find her smile again.

‘Okay, okay, BB-8 let’s get inside first,’ she said and the animal followed her gleefully back down the duracrete stairs.

Her door barely opened, BB-8 already squeezed inside, leaping up onto the bed before Rey even had a chance to close the door, take off her bag and staff, and brushed the snow from her hair and shoulders. Sighing off her fatigue, she selected a whole portion to make up for the extra hard scavenging done today and set up the cooking pot.

BB-8 sat back on their hind legs and started to groom themselves, whilst Rey cooked her food. When it was ready, they joined her at the top of the bed, curling up next to her crossed legs.

At the finishing of her meal, an idea struck Rey and she grabbed one of her old toys by the ledge near the window for her and BB-8 to play with. It was an old rag stuffed full of cotton to make it resemble a mouse. BB-8 seemed sceptical at first, eyeing the toy mouse warily while Rey hung it in front of them by its manky string tail. Yet after she bonked it lightly against their nose, they responded playfully, trying to catch the mouse in their paws. Once almost achieving so, Rey changed tactics and decided to trail the mouse along the surface top of her bed, watching in delight as BB-8 chased after it.

However, when she changed tactics again and this time threw the mouse away for them to fetch back, BB-8 stayed put exactly where they were and simply looked up at Rey in confusion as if trying to communicate why she’d just threw it away like that.

‘Not into that either, I see,’ she said. She remembered a time, in her early scavenging years, when a group of bullies took some of her junk and began throwing it around between themselves for her to retrieve and fetch. Even now it sent chills of her anger through her veins. It was the first time she’d ever beaten _a group_ with her staff. After then, everyone in Jakku slowly became aware of how capable and dangerous she could be with her staff and bare hands.

Rey got up to retrieve the mouse toy from across the room and turned around to find BB-8 not on the bed anymore, and instead heading towards the door.

‘Heading back already? Alright,’ she said, moving over to the door to open it for them.

BB-8 meowed another goodbye and then left up the stairs.

It was evident, Rey realised, that if she wanted BB-8 to stay longer – and, strangely, she did – she would need to find some food for them.

The main problem there was Rey had no idea what it was that cats would want to eat, let alone what they should eat to avoid getting ill or dying. She also didn’t have anyone she could ask or enquire with about such a thing. It certainly wasn’t something to trade in for; Unkar only handed out human food. He’d also be unlikely to know either, or give her a straight answer for that matter, probably want her to trade in something first just for the knowledge. So to find her answer, Rey needed to pay attention to the scavengers in Niima Outpost who owned cats. It was a big community, there were bound to be a couple of owners she could observe, or perhaps ask – an unlikely option, though.

Not until a few weeks and an increasing number of visits from BB-8 later did Rey finally catch sight of someone, coincidentally, _feeding_ a cat near the washing stations.

A young girl, another scavenger around the same age as Rey, was bent down next to a scrawny black and brown cat who had fur missing from certain parts of their body and in the process of placing a bowl in front of them as Rey walked over.

She was called Devi, if memory served correctly. Her older friend, by the name of Strunk, stood tall and broad beside her. He was a few years older than both of them, maybe eighteen if Rey needed to put a number on it. Strunk spotted Rey’s approach first, elbowing Devi to call her attention as well.

Thinking about, Rey had seen them around this area for years, scavenging and trading with Unkar, so it seemed strange that only just now had she noticed their cat. The potency with which Rey kept to herself and minded her own business in Jakku always found odd ways to surprise her.

She kept one hand on her staff strap in case they got the wrong impression but also to make her posture appear casual and friendly, rather than determined. She stared at the cat until close enough and then looked up at Devi and asked, ‘um, Devi. Where did you get that from?’

‘Get what?’ Devi said, eyes squinting against the Winter Sun.

Rey pointed to the cat’s bowl. ‘That cat food.’

Taking her sweet time, Devi looked down at the bowl, at the cat quickly lapping up the slimy food, and then _eventually_ back up to Rey again. ‘What makes you think I’m gonna tell you that?’

This had been a stupid idea; she should have seen it coming. ‘Never mind, then,’ she said, turning to leave.

Rey managed to get about a few metres away, although still within earshot, before Devi spoke again. She turned back around to find them now walking towards her.

‘Wait, wait,’ Devi said. ‘I think we can strike a deal here.’

‘Don’t be so sure,’ Strunk said, sceptical. ‘I doubt she thinks this information is gonna be worth much.’

His lack of faith in her made Rey decide to rekindle her confidence. She looked to Devi firmly, and said, ‘name your price, Devi.’

The young scavenger glanced up and down Rey’s body slowly, settling on the staff slung over her shoulder and staying put for a moment.

Rey took note of this and after a while dropped her hand there.

Finally Devi seemed to find her words. ‘Well, we’ve always wanted to scavenge a working car for Unkar,’ she said, ‘but, like, the main problem there is, neither of us knows how to drive. However, we know that _you_ can drive, like of the sorts. So our deal here is, if you drive us back a car that we find across The Divider, we’ll show you where to scavenge the best cat food in Jakku.’

There would be more to this deal than Devi was letting on right now, something hidden along the way, a _catch_. Instinct told her it would be there. Instinct told her it was a big one. But for the life of her, Rey couldn’t figure out what it would be. She just hoped she could handle it when the time came. ‘Fine. You’ve got a deal, I’ll help you,’ Rey said, while thinking, _you better be worth this risk, BB-8_.

Devi and Strunk delivered on their promise quicker than Rey expected, which left her at a disadvantage because she’d had less time to give this deal a proper good thinking over. They found her towards the end of the working day, collecting her portions from Unkar and thinking about heading home to eat. Rey was walking towards the duracrete entrance into the passage of her home when she heard them calling out.

Strunk practically crashed into her as Rey turned around to find where they were coming from.

‘Hey, Rey,’ he said, out of breath. A thick sheen of sweat covered his forehead. ‘We… found the car.’

Walking instead of running, Devi eventually joined their side too. ‘It’s parked in the rich area of the city, waiting for us right now,’ she said. ‘So put your stuff away and we can go get it.’

Rey frowned. She glanced to the sky, currently a darkening shade of lilac. ‘Now? But why? By the time we get there it will be dark.’

Devi smiled. ‘Exactly,’ she said, like it was obvious. ‘We drive it back in the dark. There’ll be less people around, like, to ask questions.’

Rey regarded them, unsure. It must have seemed like a logical idea to Devi, sneaking around in these black streets, relying on the nightly routine of deserted rich folk, but there were a lot of complications that could arise solely because it was dark, such as visibility of the road and a lack of crowds to hide in should they get pursued by First Order police. However, going in daylight meant there was a guarantee they would be pursued by FO police; no member of Jakku would be able to get within two metres along the rich streets before they were spotted, looking even more completely out of place if they were to be driving a car as well.

With that last point taken into consideration, Rey concluded her internal debate to be over.

She sighed. ‘Alright. Give me a minute,’ she said. ‘Wait here, I’ll be right back.’ Darting down into the duracrete passage and towards her home, Rey was thankful this didn’t happen to be a day to find BB-8 prancing up and down her front door, certainly not in the mood to have to turn the animal down. She dumped the usual day’s portions inside the secret compartment under her cot and slipped her scavenging bag next to the far side of her travelling simulator. She dumped her staff too by the door and then quickly thought better of it, slinging it over her shoulder again and making her way back to Devi and Strunk, lighter but still just as hungry. She’d been a day without food before, she told herself, she could do this.

The two scavengers were waiting exactly where she’d left them, Devi grinning when she saw Rey walking over. They were out of Jakku within the hour, across the Divider and into the back alleys of the rich person’s city, currently empty of or in the process of being from their usual scavengers.

Rey held her head down low to avoid attracting too much attention, which meant that when they finally arrived at where Devi and Strunk had left this car and therefore stopped, she ended up bumping into the back of Strunk.

She expected him to become angry and Strunk turned around slowly enough to appear to be, while she rushed to collect herself. But rather than annoyance on his expression, he looked down at Rey and smiled dopily.

‘What do you think then?’ Devi said, pulling Rey’s attention in her direction. ‘Do our wheels appear drivable?’ She was looking at Rey expectantly.

Rey moved her gaze past her and onto the car, half hidden by a tatty sheet in the far corner of the alleyway they were stood in. She approached the vehicle in quick time, ripping the sheet off its body and sticking her head through the vacant side window frame. Finding the lever she needed, Rey popped open the hood and, clicking on her flashlight in the fading dusk light, moved around to check the engine. _Very_ surprisingly, everything happened to be _there_ , and in good enough condition for a workable drive. Everything, however, except for front headlights; at least the darkness would hide them, but this would be a careful drive back to Jakku. These two genuinely knew what they’re talking about, it would seem.

Rey turned back to them and, to her surprise, found she was smiling. ‘It’ll do,’ she said.

Devi took the place beside Rey, and Strunk ended up behind on one of the back seats with Rey’s staff to keep him company. These seats had definitely seen better days and everything inside was covered in a substantial layer of dust, making it grimy to the touch. Keys were non-existent in the scavenging world so Rey jumpstarted the car with no questions asked. Feeling the car spark into life right under her feet, she eased them carefully out of the alleyway in first gear. She revelled in the way the car responded vividly to her every action, the clutch moving in as she released the pedal, the wheels turning in her hands. This enjoyment would never get old. Looking to Devi, who directed her down the street on the left, Rey switched up to second gear, planning on staying there in these badly moonlit streets. They’d chosen a full moon night, so that would be something.

This wasn’t, in fact, her first time in a car. Unkar had taught Rey some basic driving skills, back before she’d discovered scavenging, with a plan of making her his personal driver since he’d accumulated quite a significant amount of working vehicles over the years. But, luckily she’d gotten out of that one.

For a long while, their invisible travel seemed to be working perfectly. Rey could just about make out the street curb in the low light and this allowed her to keep on the correct side of the road. Another advantage of it being night time was that they could sense oncoming cars very early on by the beam of their headlights, giving them plenty of time to hide or stop. For all of her shortcomings, Devi certainly knew where they were supposed to be going to get back to Jakku, not once did she hesitate or stutter on giving Rey directions along these black street. Everything was working smoothly.

Until they all spotted the strange light.

The first difference to notice about this light was the fact, unlike car headlights, it _flickered_. The second difference was its location in terms of the city streets; this light stretched out up above the buildings, instead peeking out from along their sides like the headlights did. Unfortunately no one objected or said to stop until after Rey had turned the final corner and all of them were met with a large blazing fire consuming the front section of a shop, only twenty or so metres down their current street.

Immediately Rey stopped, jolting everyone forward suddenly. Adjusting to the sudden burst of light, they watched as figures, running around on the road, threw rocks and more alight objects at the burning building. The figures were dressed in mostly black and the way they threw the rocks with such vigour and enthusiasm, as if it was all somehow enjoyable, didn’t settle right in Rey’s mind. She had never seen anything like this before. Glancing at each other for answers, it was clear none of them knew what was going on or why it was happening.

But, squinting, Rey could also make out behind the fire enthusiasts, some First Order police so whatever this was would soon be dealt with.

Yet as the time passed, the First Order police gave no indication of putting a stop to what was happening. They simply stood there in the background, watching the bright chaos unfold before them, and that was when Rey realised, they weren’t here to protect the burning house, they were here to protect the ones who started the fire.

 _Crack_!

Too busy staring at the wrong people, Rey missed the first stone that came hurtling towards their windscreen, hitting the glass and bouncing off onto the hood. More began to follow as she quickly became aware of the fact the fire enthusiasts had spotted their car and were now directing their hate towards them rather than the house.

‘Shit!’ Devi said in a panic, her voice snapping Rey back to her senses. ‘Rey, reverse us out of here!’

The gear stick didn’t have a labelled top, meaning it took Rey a few more tries than she would have liked to find the reserve gear and in that time more stones were thrown, hitting the car and beginning in places to crack the windscreen. Eventually one got through and cut Devi across the head; she cried out and fell to the side, clutching her face. Finally Rey found the right gear and thankfully, the car hadn’t stalled, but with an adrenaline rush in her veins, Rey slammed down on the accelerator a bit too sharply, which meant they went flying backwards and almost crashed into a wall. She swerved around in time to miss it but then also managed to get herself directed forward again.

Some of the fire enthusiasts had followed them down the road. Rey raced away from them, driving blindly, not caring where she was going as long as it put some distance between her and them. With the gear and speed they were going at, the fire enthusiasts went out of sight pretty quickly, however, Rey still eventually needed to stop because without Devi, she didn’t know the correct way back to Jakku. She found an empty back alleyway and hastily reversed inside of it, before killing the engine.

Silence engulfed them.

‘What was _that_?’ Rey said, still looking forward.

‘I don’t know. I don’t know,’ Devi was saying, her hand still against the side of her head. Blood had started to seep through her fingers and was dripping onto her lap.

‘Devi, are you okay?’ Strunk said. He tried to climb forward over her seat to get a look at her face but Devi swatted his hands away.

‘What _the fuck_ do you think?’ she said, screeching. ‘I think they hit my eye.’

‘Let me see,’ Rey said, searching her bag for her flashlight. After locating it and clicking on the light, Rey looked up to find Devi slowly turning her head into view and removing her bloody hand. Rey shone the yellowy, delicate light onto the side of Devi’s face and began to examine this wound. The stone had made clear gash along her temple only half an inch away from her eye, having split a section of skin open which dribbled blood down the side of her face.

She raised a hand to move Devi’s head a little, to see if the cut extended to the hairline, but Devi flinched away. ‘Careful, _careful_ ,’ she said. 

Trying again but much slower this time, Rey checked under the blood in her hair with a finger and Devi’s non-reaction indicated the cut didn’t reach this far. She clicked off her light. ‘Your eye is fine,’ she said, ‘they missed it. But we shouldn’t leave the wound open like that.’ Rey dug into her bang and pulled out some discarded cloth she often used to wipe sweat off her forehead and handed it to Strunk. ‘Here, Strunk, put this on her cut and press down to stop the bleeding.’ Jumpstarting the engine again, she watched him reach around and place the clumped up cloth up onto the side of her face, and even though Devi still tried to swat him away, he didn’t stop this time.

Rey slotted the car into the first gear and eased them forward to the end of the alleyway. She was about to mention that she didn’t know the way back when junk pile across the street caught her eye and she abruptly recognised where they were, conveniently not that far from the Divider. ‘I’ll take you back to my place and we can patch it up,’ she said, turning them out onto the road again.

Too consumed with pain, it was Strunk who raised the obvious question. ‘Do you know where we need to go to get to Jakku?’ he said.

‘I recognised a junk pile back there,’ Rey said. ‘I can take it from here.’

‘Okay,’ he said, and that was his satisfaction on the matter.

Silence engulfed the car once again and none of them spoke a word until Rey was sliding the car up the path to Niima Outpost trading yard.

Abruptly Devi planted a firm hand on Rey’s arm. ‘No, no, we can’t stop here,’ she said, her voice low and scratchy. ‘Strunk, tell her where our hiding place is. Show her where to hide the car.’

Strunk led her to a secluded spot a few Outposts down, meaning it would be another long journey back to Rey’s home, but at least the blanket given to cover the car wasn’t as tatty as the previous one.

On the way home, Devi’s bleeding seemed to slow and the blood didn’t soak through the cloth by much or even drench it, so that was a good sign. However, she was still little weak from the shock of it all, leaning on Strunk until she couldn’t walk another step and he had to carry her.

The duracrete passage of her home was deadly silent as was her little home, where she closed the door and flipped on the lights. Rey instructed Strunk to lay Devi down on his bed while she gathered a needle and thread. She was aware of the fact the wound would need cleaning and that involved using some of her valuable water supply. Rey hesitated, hand hovering over one of the bottles, before disregarding the logics of this idea and taking it with her to the bed anyway.

Sat on the end of the bed, Devi eyed her wearily as Rey threaded the needle. She then tilted Devi’s head by the chin and carefully poured water over the cut so it would be directed off the edge of her bed sheets and onto the floor, pausing when Devi flinched back from the sensitivity, but only stopping once the current layer of mucky blood was washed away. ‘I’m going need to stitch up the wound, Devi,’ she explained, grabbing the needle again. ‘Or else it’ll get infected from exposure.’ Rey looked to Strunk, half kneeling on the bed behind Devi. ‘I need you to hold her head very still or else I’ll mess up the stitches.’ Finally she looked at Devi. ‘Not gonna lie, this is gonna hurt,’ she said.

Devi let out a tiny strained whimper when the needle first pierced her skin. Her body shook almost constantly as Rey worked, but Strunk hands kept her firmly held in place. She bawled out a few times, slamming a weak fist down on the bed to counteract the pain.

When Rey had finally finished, Devi darted away, crawling to the other side of the bed, and wept into her hands.

Rey glanced at Strunk awkwardly. She never had any idea what to do with people when they were like this, often choosing to leave them alone. Distracting herself with cleaning up Devi’s mess, she hoped Strunk would be the first to act instead and Rey heard him join her on the side of the bed, the old cot creaking under his weight. She looked up to see Devi bury herself in Strunk’s stomach before he gradually wrapped his arms around her.

Standing up to put away the bloody mess, Rey immediately became aware of how utterly light-headed she was and her stomach chose right in that moment to grumble with hunger. She thought to use this quietness to make herself something to eat before sleeping but then realised that Devi and Strunk would probably ask for something too. She wasn’t in either mood to turn them down or hand out more of her valuable resources.

‘You can have the bed,’ Rey said, getting the extra blankets out from the secret storage under her travel simulator. ‘Strunk and I will take the floor.’ She stood before them and handed two blankets to Strunk.

Rey took the space by the door partly because it was the one furthest away from the bed and therefore the crying Devi, but also because it was nearest the door. It was still her responsibility to protect this home.

She didn’t stop crying for a very long time and, ultimately, Strunk took the bed with her instead of the floor, snuggling up behind Devi and holding her. Hair both shorn and wearing similar clothes, they looked more like siblings than partners. Rey found no objection to this behaviour after such an experience – her and Devi were the same age, after all. Her only problem with it all was actually her jealousy, because she had no one in the world to do that for her, and probably never would. Although, not that she would ever make an attempt to acknowledge it, a small part of her desperately wished she did.

Eventually Devi said into the deepening silence of the room, ‘you have shown me a serious kindness, Rey.’ Her voice, this time, was rough yet full of phlegm. ‘I’ll have to find some way to repay you.’

Rey couldn’t think of the correct response to this, so after a while she simply said, ‘just show me where this cat food is and I’ll consider it enough.’

In the end, it turned out to be something really obvious, but then again that was vastly becoming Devi and Strunk’s specialty.

They showed Rey the back end of a shop which made pretty and expensive cat food. All she needed to do was select the tins with unbroken seals and, thus, free scavenged cat food. She should have been angry for having her time wasted, or something, over a place she could have found herself if she’d bothered to look. But Rey wasn’t angry.

Perhaps her life, being as mundane as it was, meant that any change, positive or negative, was worth welcoming. Or perhaps she’d just enjoyed the excitement of a thrilling night and getting to drive a car again.

With their deal pretty much completed, it only made sense for the three of them to part ways.

None of the cans had labels to indicate flavour, so Rey picked a selection, hoping each would be different from the others. It came to her attention that she also needed a tin opener, and so spent the whole day scavenging through shops which sold pretty and expensive kitchen appliances to find the parts for one.

Her kindness to Devi was not without sacrifices and, as a result, Rey became limited to one half portion a day for the next few weeks. Her light-headedness continued viciously on and, after a while, she developed a splitting headache, which made her head feel like it was going to explode every time the Winter Sun got caught in her vision.

BB-8 enjoyed the food. So there was something positive to take away. Rey became tempted at points to try a little herself, since she was so hungry from working extra hard and eating extra little but just the smell alone seemed enough to put her frequently off that idea.

Days and weeks passed. Devi and Strunk never got back to her about the success of their car and she must have missed the day and time they chose to trade it over, but, then again, that part never arose in the deal they had made. Plus they’d been nothing more than passing scavengers to each other, Devi and Strunk possessed no reason to think she would care. Life returned to normal, as it should do.

As it should do. Rey just needed to keep telling herself, as it should do. So why did something else seem to be telling her it wouldn’t? Like a tiny voice nagging away at the back of her mind, unstoppable.

To be honest, it felt like a quiet before the storm. An eerie silence that seeped its way into everything she did. She would be scavenging under the strong, sharp Sun and sense it watching, waiting to get her alone and vulnerable. She would be eating her traded-in-for muck by the ledge near her window and smell it rising up from the ground like a noxious gas. She would be lying awake in her cot on another sleepless night and hear it whispering in a volume almost more deafening than the usual slum hum.

Whispering _consequences were coming_.

And come they did. Almost a month after their nightly affair, Rey was just finished bargaining with Unkar for more than two half portions for once and walking away, when she watched as an unfamiliar vehicle drive up into the trading yard of Niima Outpost. It stopped in the centre of the sandy expanse and two armoured people got out from the front before another vehicle came up beside to join it. Another pair of armoured figures stepped out of the second vehicle.

Rey frowned. She had seen these types of people before with their solid white armour clad over black fabric, topped with helmet which looked like a smiling snake. There was a name for them; she just needed to remember it.

All the other scavengers in the area were like Rey, paused in curiosity whilst the white figures spoken amongst themselves, gathering around the screen of datapad before nodding and dispersing evenly into the washing stations.

 _Stormtroopers_. That was it. Stormtroopers, secret police of the First Order.

Well, not-so-secret now, walking about in Jakku in the middle of the afternoon but their job service didn’t necessarily require for them to be secret about their work. They were the First Order’s muscle. When they needed something gritty and violent done, the First Order tasked the Stormtroopers to do it. They were looking for someone, she noticed.

Could it be for her? Rey and the others definitely saw something they shouldn’t have that night. Had the silence finally arrived to make her one of its own?

Screams erupted from inside the tented wash stations.

Rey’s heart was a siren in her ears as she waited for the Stormtroopers to reappear. Gradually, a hand slid around her back and grasped her staff. The screams continued and Rey heard the sound of violence. It made her jump and take a step back.

When the Stormtroopers eventually reappeared it was as she had feared. Two of them were dragging a limp and unconscious Strunk between them, while a third had their arms firmly encased around Devi, wriggling and struggling to get free. Following slowly behind, the fourth Stormtrooper had their blaster raised, pointing it here and there at scavengers who got too close or moved too suddenly. She knew the blaster hadn’t been fired yet though; no one could miss the sound and red flash of a First Order blaster.

The first pair stuffed Strunk inside one of the vehicles, got in the front and began to drive off, while Devi was thrown to the ground. The Stormtrooper holding the blaster pointed it at her head as a warning. The one who’d been holding her retrieved their datapad and dialled numbers on its surface. They began talking to someone through the device and held the datapad up against Devi’s face, before taking a step back to speak again with whoever was on the other end.

Terrified and crying, Devi looked exactly in Rey’s direction, catching her eye, and Rey froze. This was it, Devi would rat her out and then the Stormtroopers would turn and be coming for her too.

Her hand tightened around her staff, ready.

But Devi didn’t appear to be saying anything, she simply stared at Rey. In due course, the Stormtroopers pulled her away towards their vehicle, they bound her arms and slapped her calves with a strap to make her fall, and she stared.

Then it hit Rey. This was her thank you. By staying silent and not letting Rey get taken down as well, this was Devi’s way of saying thank you. Thank you for the water and for offering help before request.

Rey should have done something; Devi didn’t deserve this. No one deserved this. She should have attacked the police with her staff, fought them off and saved the day. But she couldn’t move. Either through sense or fright, she didn’t know.

All Rey could do was watch Devi being stuffed into the vehicle. Then once she was out of sight, a Stormtrooper walked over to front and flung the door open. A second later, the engine roared into life and the vehicle disappeared down the road, out of Jakku.

She didn’t realise she was crying until the tears finally hit her cheeks. Snapping back to reality, Rey wiped them away viciously, before anyone noticed, and headed straight home.

The silence didn’t follow her anymore; it was truly gone and left behind an empty sort of weightlessness from off of her shoulders. Walking home, Rey felt like she could float away at any given moment.

Once home, she slammed her door shut and fell down against it, back pressed up against the cold metal, not moving for several minutes. It was a struggle to fight back more tears but, in all honesty, Rey was scared. She’d just seen someone get taken away for the same crime that she had committed with them. How did she know the First Order weren’t still looking for her? How did she know they weren’t satisfied with their current catch?

When Rey finally could move, she made her dinner with her staff either in hand or always nearby within easy reach, alert to the tiniest of sounds. She ate on her bed, facing the door, and, after finishing, she marked the day off on the wall, set up her cot, and then lay down on it until nightfall.

She watched the door and listened to her neighbours, returning home from their day, heading out for the night, arguing and chatting with each other, none of them alone. She waited for the moment the status quo changed, a sign to indicate the Stormtroopers had found her and were coming for her.

Her home seemed to quiver and quake along with her, yet silent as so to listen in on her neighbours as well. She looked around her dwellings, at the far brick wall which shook sometimes during violent storms, at the window whose glass was clammy and scratched so much Rey could barely see out of it, at the stove in the corner blackening her ceiling with soot, at her cot and travel simulator both inelegant and poorly put together, and finally back at the metal door, thin, frail and only just about encasing the hole it covered.

It wasn’t a home; it was a hole in the ground. She just wished it was six feet under too so it could become her grave.

Rey’s anxiety over possibly finding First Order Stormtroopers around every corner didn’t let up for a couple of days. Only once a whole week had passed did she allow herself some relief that she may have actually gotten away with it.

The next best course of action, she felt, was now to forget all about it.

But, evidently, the Force had other ideas. Rey was sat in the washing stations a week and a half after Devi had been taken, when she caught wind of a conversation.

Two scavengers were talking amongst each other a few benches up.

‘The shop owners were hiding a Jedi family in their basement,’ the first one said, voice rough from age and smoking. Rey glanced over to see she appeared female. ‘Their neighbours found out before the police. But the First Order still let them destroy the shop, and the home above it, until fairly late into the night. I hear they made sure the Jedi family were still stuck inside after the fire took over. _All the more for the First Order_.’

Rey recognised the classic poor folk’s saying.

‘Typical,’ her male counterpart said. He looked much younger than his friend but Rey couldn’t tell by how much; the work of poor folk aged everyone abnormally around here. ‘Let the people do their dirty work, instead of being seen doing the hate crime themselves. _All the more for the First Order_ it definitely would seem.’

‘Keeps their hands on all the right cards that way, doesn’t it?’ the woman said with an eyebrow raise, returning to scavenged silver cutlery.

‘I suppose.’ The man returned to his own scavenged materials as well.

A silence settled between them for a while before the woman looked up at her companion again. ‘Well, there might be someone else around soon,’ she said. ‘Another important player stepping up, who can take a few of their cards.’

Slowly, the man frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

The pair then moved closer together at that point and quietened their voices to a low level, one where Rey struggled to understand clearly what word was being said next. By the end of their talk, all she’d managed to make out was one phrase: ‘the Resistance is rising again.’

Those words echoed about in her head on the walk home that day. Her mind only really snapped back to real space when Rey spotted the flash of white and orange prancing up and down at the bottom of the duracrete stairs. She had to admit, despite all she’d lost and gained for this damned cat, it was getting nice to have someone to come home to everyday.

Rey let BB-8 inside and made them both dinner while, as per usual, they curved and twisted around her feet, brushing up against her legs. She put the stinky cat food in a bowl and then placed the bowl down in front of BB-8 before climbing up onto her ledge by the window and eating her food there.

Rey didn’t know the history of the Resistance. There had been a definite change from when the First Order took power five years ago but information struggled to reach down onto her level amongst the poor folk of the city without datapads and holovids to convey information. From what she had heard, the Resistance existed back when the First Order were just beginning to establish their hold on this country. They had fought back to the stop them and been crushed in the process. It was said they were independently funded and only partially supported by the previous government. Perhaps that had had something to do with their failure.

Once done, Rey decided she needed a bit of comfort so, despite the company, popped on her pilot’s hat and goggles. She stared out the clammy window and let her head swarm with thoughts about the Resistance.

Rey knew the cat couldn’t really answer her but, like anything in this place, it was worth a try. ‘Do you know anything about the Resistance, BB-8?’ she said.

BB-8 looked at her from across the room and then meowed sharply.

If they did have something to do with it all, then maybe that would mean the Resistance might pass her way and Rey could find a way to contribute something good to make up for her cowardice, maybe even partake in small some way in helping to free this country from the clutches of the First Order. She turned back to her window and allowed that tiny piece of hope to blossom in her stomach. ‘I’m going to take that as a _yes_ ,’ Rey said. ‘Whether you want me to or not.’

¬

Becoming an Official for Finn – well, firstly it was the most unexpected thing to happen at this point in his life, even despite the promotions he thought it would really be happening _many_ years far into the future; but secondly – meant he gained a significant amount of free time. Finn chose to spend most of that free time with Poe, who also had a lot of free time himself, it turned out. There was nowhere else for them to hang out except in Poe’s flat since, technically, they still shouldn’t have been spending time together.

Barely three months into Level Four and Finn felt like he was finally getting the hang of these transportation timelines, when Captain Phasma called him to her office for another talk. He concluded that clearly he was more reversed than he thought and this must have been about some big mistake he’d made, and failed to register. Phasma would probably decide it would be best if he simply moved back down to Level Three.

What he didn’t conclude was that Phasma would tell him as of next week he was to become an Official.

Before the words even had processed correctly in his mind, Phasma already began laying out datapads on her desk with important forms he needed to fill out and sign. Finn would be assigned his own room along with the other Officials, he would get an access badge and a new uniform, but he was to remain on the factory campus at all times. He was still a working man of the First Order and no matter what that would be his lot in life until the day he died.

Checking them over quickly, there was a section on one of the forms for filling in a name and he looked forward to officially changing his name to Finn. But when the meeting finally commenced a week later, to his dismay that section was already filled out with his Identification Number. And, try as he might, Finn couldn’t select the bar to change it. In fact, both the first name bar and the surname bar below had a dark tint over them, which insisted they were completely untouchable for Finn. He couldn't have a say over their contents. Finn knew he had no right to object but figured they at least owed him that much. What was a name if not something to let him be human?

It left Finn feeling rather hollow. Like in the illusion holovids he’d catch on his datapad where the magician would hide something in a box and then slam the box down flat to reveal nothing was actually in there. All it would take was for someone to come along and do the same to him and he’d fall flat against the ground like a sheet of flimsi.

It angered Finn to his core and he ended that meeting with a nauseous sensation in his throat and chest. They wouldn’t let him have his new name.

Finn hadn’t told Poe anything yet, planning on surprising him with the news on the day he transitioned to an Official, but even that seemed less fruitful now. With his Official registration complete, Captain Phasma took Finn to a brand new part of the factory campus. She showed him his new room, white four-by-six metres with a simple bed and wardrobe, and then escorted him to a locker room down the corridor, where he traded in his clumpy, old grey jumpsuit for a crisp, pressed black uniform. Thankfully, Phasma waited outside while he changed. The trousers of the uniform clung to his calves like sticky sauce and bread did to the roof of his mouth but then fanned out at the thighs, and the jacket had been made to his exact measurements, so it fitted seamlessly, the belt giving him a waist he never knew he had. Finn put the hat on in the full length mirror and then stood back to get a good look at himself.

The old Finn was hardly recognisable anymore, only sharing the same dark skin and bold face as the previous version. What stood in its place now looked superficial and proud and _wrong_ , above all wrong. This was wrong and he shouldn’t have been wearing this uniform. Something kept ringing around in his brain: he shouldn’t have become an Official in the first place. He wondered what would Slip say if he could see him now.

When she saw him, Captain Phasma didn’t have any comment on the matter, which surprised Finn actually. She simply glanced up and down his body several times before smiling proudly. She departed with efficient steps down the durasteel corridor after leaving Finn with his old datapad and the instruction to revise his schedule by tomorrow morning.

Since all the other Officials weren’t limited to the factory’s premises as Finn was, the Official’s Quarters stayed relatively empty for the rest of the day, and even at night time it turned out most of them didn’t bother to return to their rooms.

Finn felt suffocated by the pure silence, lying in bed in just his bottom layer of a black vest and underwear. The little red dot up in the top corner of his room reminding him he was still being monitored at all times.

Jessika’s bar appeared to be off limits to Officials. Finn’s knowledge of the factory rules had grown shoddy over the past half year. But luckily the new software on his datapad came with a map of the factory. It was supposed to only be used for his rounds, so not all the square block buildings contained details of their insides. There was even one cut in half at the bottom, which Finn figured must have been General Hux’s office. However, despite this constraint, Finn didn’t struggle to find a new path to Poe’s flat that was accessible to Officials.

He waited until his first shift came to an end, returning to his room to check over the path one last time before heading out.

His work and duties within this new job had been pretty easy to understand so far, performing them, however, was another matter. The immediate thing he’d spotted upon starting today was that he stood completely out of place around the other Officials. They all appeared to be good friends amongst each other in some form, leaving Finn rather outcast a lot of the time.

For example, firstly, he needed to monitor the workers in Level Two for several hours before his shift would be switched over at lunch. It was a long and tedious task, especially since staring at the workers made Finn feel self conscious so he chose to gaze at the walls or his feet most of the time instead. Being congenial with each other allowed the other Officials to talk to pass the time and Finn was obviously excluded from that. He had never noticed before how much the Officials talked while on duty, probably too consumed with his own factory work back then.

Any beliefs he had over whether his second task of the day would more inclusive were snatched away the second he remembered it involved patrolling the factory grounds. Patrols were almost as tedious as monitoring workers, except they left a gnawing ache in Finn’s legs from all the walking. He almost opted out of visiting Poe today but they had been starting to meet up nearly every day, before his most recent promotion, and Finn really just needed to see a friendly face right now.

Since he was off-duty, Finn technically didn’t have to continue wearing his uniform anymore, the only problem there was he didn’t have anything else to wear instead. Plus it helped him blend into the corridors as he made his way over to Poe’s.

Finn ended up coming through from Jessika’s end of the corridor of flats. Not hearing anything from behind hers, Finn proceeded to Poe’s and knocked on the door. It was a good hour or so before Poe needed to be in the bar so he’d have no idea Finn would be the one on the other side; apparently Finn went off-duty when workers normally went for their last meal of the day, and the nightly squad of Officials got up and took over.

As predicted, Poe’s eyes widened exponentially and his jaw dropped when he opened his flat door to find Finn standing there.

Finn couldn’t help himself, he grinned.

‘Hey,’ Poe said, a little dazed.

‘Hey,’ Finn said, grinning brighter.

‘Uh,’ Poe cleared his throat. ‘What are you doing here?’

Pretending to be clueless, Finn said, ‘I have something to tell you actually,’ raising his eyebrows for emphasis.

Poe went along with the act. ‘Oh really?’ he said.

‘Captain Phasma promoted me to an Official yesterday,’ Finn said. Despite his initial happiness, those words immediately broke through his cheery bravado and for a moment he lost his smile. ‘I started work today.’

Poe remained silent for awhile, regarding Finn, hand still on the door. ‘Wow, Finn, that’s… _certainly_ something,’ he said at last. ‘Why—’ he began only to be interrupted by Finn practically diving into his arms as he reacted to a flash of orange and white moving across the floor inside the flat.

‘Oh fucking Force, what is _that_?!’ Finn said almost topping Poe over.

Poe moved like when they were dancing and chose in that moment to swing Finn into the room, kicking the door shut once he was out of the way.

Effectively being brought closer to the dangerous white and orange thing, Finn of course let out a startled squeak and darted behind Poe, back against the newly closed door. Slowly he peered over Poe’s shoulder to assess the situation. At first nothing was in sight, then suddenly a small hairy creature jumped up onto Poe’s soft chair. They carefully walked along the top, placing one paw in front of the other, until they came to the middle and stopped before looking right at Finn. ‘Poe, it’s moving,’ he said, disappearing further down Poe’s shoulders. He was actually the taller one of the two, so this became a rather difficult action to archive. ‘Is it supposed to be moving? Poe, why are you laughing?!’ He could feel the chuckle vibrating through Poe’s shoulders. ‘This is a very serious situation!’

‘Imagine that,’ Poe said, face to the side. ‘Finn, the big arse fancy Official, scared of a cat?’ He stepped away then, Finn let him go, and walked up to the weird furry creature, scooping them up in his arms. ‘Come here, BB-8. He doesn’t want to scare you, does he? Finn’s just being silly that’s all.’ To Finn’s alarm, Poe rubbed his face against their head and the creature closed their eyes and started to make a strange humming noise. Poe looked to Finn while continuing to face merge with this white and orange being. ‘This is my cat, Finn,’ he said, ‘they’re my pet. They’re called BB-8 and they _certainly_ don’t mean you any harm.’ He pulled back and a few little white hairs had gotten caught in his beard. ‘You can come pet them, if you like.’

‘Oh okay,’ Finn said, shaking off his fear. He ventured forward next to Poe and then slowly moved a hand towards BB-8. The cat glanced up at him with their big, bright eyes whilst he touched their head in small, light strokes of fur. ‘Hmm, you’re not actually that dangerous, are you?’

‘No, don’t touch their fur! It’s poisonous!’

‘What?!’ Finn flung both his hands up in the air, even though only one had been on BB-8, and simultaneously flinched backwards which basically resulted in him looking like distressed bird. ‘But what you just said—!’

Poe cut Finn off with a humongous laugh that shook through his entire body making his face light up brighter than the Sun, and suddenly all of Finn’s grievances about the previous day didn’t seem to matter anymore. Poe looked positively beautiful like this; he could stare all day. Finn didn’t even realise it left him breathless until he stumbled on an inhale, half a minute later.

Unfortunately it caused him to choke, on presumably his own salvia, and started an uncomfortable coughing fit. BB-8 leapt from Poe’s arms in alarm as he began to pat Finn firmly on the back.

‘Wow,’ Poe said, at the point the coughing fit came to a gradual end. He kept his hand on Finn, though, rubbing soothing circles between his shoulder blades. ‘You okay there, Buddy?’

As Poe regarded him with concern, a warmth washed over Finn and it felt similar to the way fresh water felt on his tired body after a long day working. Seeing there was no permanent damage, Poe grinned and Finn swore his heart genuinely skipped a few beats. ‘Yeah, I think I am,’ he said.

Then the memories of his meeting with Captain Phasma came flooding back and Finn turned serious. ‘Well, um— well, actually there’s something I need to tell you about,’ he said, gesturing to the soft chair. ‘You and BB-8 should probably sit down.’

Poe did as Finn asked. BB-8 leapt up into his lap whilst he got comfortable.

Finn sat down too and looked at Poe, then down at the cat, curling themselves into the space on top of their owner’s legs.

There was something else Captain Phasma had mentioned during their meeting the previous day. Something she’d only brought up once everything had been sorted and put away and that had filled Finn with a sense of dread. So much so, he’d attempted to keep it well blocked out to avoid having to deal with it until in Poe’s company. She’d spoken about a program outside the city where the First Order trained and organised a very different version of workers.

‘Captain Phasma said they’re called Stormtroopers,’ Finn explained. ‘They want to send me away by the end of the year. It’s why I’ve been promoted so much recently because Leader and Chancellor Snoke wanted me put through the system before I get sent off. In fact I’m only going to be an Official for a few months and then I’ll leave. The Captain said I don’t have the mind for a worker; I was born to be a Stormtrooper instead.’

Poe remained silent for a very long time, once Finn had finished. The thinking sort of silent like from the night Finn burnt his arm, where Poe was staying quiet to focus on one thing as to prevent him from doing another. Finn watched him, Poe’s eyes cast down and hand slowly running through BB-8’s fur.

Their relationship had become an odd little thing in Finn’s life, so he had no idea about the other side of things and what Poe’s feelings were on this right now. Was he mad and scared as well? Or did he think he wouldn’t have the right to be? Did Finn even want him to be mad or scared? Or _anything_? He was unsure.

Poe pulled Finn from his current train of thought with a hand on his shoulder and when Finn turned his way, he found Poe was smiling. A light smile, but a smile nonetheless. ‘Would you like something to eat?’ he said.

Finn nodded. Poe got up but before he disappeared off to the other side of the room, Finn said, ‘do you mind if I?’ touching his waist belt and hopefully implying he wanted to take off his jacket.

‘Go ahead,’ Poe said with the wave of a hand.

After taking off his hat and placing it down on the chair arm beside him, Finn unclipped the buckle of his belt, folding it and putting it down by the hat. He then slid the jacket off his bare shoulders. He wished he could take off the mismatching trousers too, but then he’d down to his bottom layer of a vest and underwear and the weather was still too cold for just that. He pulled the vest out from under his trousers at least, since having it untucked made him feel a little less silly.

Poe returned with a bowl in each hand and when he laid eyes on Finn, he stopped.

‘What?’ Finn said, alert and worried. He racked his mind for what social convention he could have done wrong.

‘Nothing… it’s just.’ With a brisk shake of the head, Poe took a second to collect his words. ‘That’s a good look on you, Finn,’ he said.

‘Thanks,’ Finn said, smiling. He was really glad he’d come to Poe’s today. It had made him feel much better, despite his current predicament and everything that was coming. He took the bowl from Poe’s hand and dug into the food whilst in this good mood, trying to ignore the perturbing question of how he was going to cope without Poe once he'd gone.

Finn took a few days to adjust and get to know BB-8. Having never even seen a pet before until their embarrassing encounter, he needed time to learn how to be around one, especially one as demanding as BB-8. The only animals he’d really seen previous were a few birds that would fly into Level One by accident sometimes and then would dart about frantically trying to escape again or avoid the whipping straps of the Officials. Nonetheless, Finn didn’t like the way BB-8 could so easily sneak up on him, brushing suddenly across his legs or abruptly nuzzling against a hand he left hanging over the soft chair.

‘They’ve been going out for the longest times that I can remember,’ Poe said one night down the week, sat on the soft chair with Finn’s legs in his lap, and BB-8 curled up and purring on Finn’s. ‘Which is why you were able to avoid them for so long. First time around, over half a year ago now, I was worried half to death something had happened to them. But, turns out, they’ve been going to visit someone.’ Poe reached over and pulled something out from BB-8’s collar. He handed Finn a small, highly folded piece of flimsi. ‘I found this on the note I leave in their collar pouch.’

Finn took the flimsi and carefully unfolded it. The note read: _hi, your cat comes to visit me sometimes, hope that’s alright. Rey._ ‘Did you write back?’ Finn said, looking back to him.

‘No,’ Poe said, plainly.

‘Why not?’

Poe took a second to think over his words. But, in all honesty, it looked more like he was stopping himself from saying the wrong thing, rather than trying to say the right thing. ‘Because I didn’t feel like it,’ he said eventually, raising his shoulders in a lazy shrug.

Finn deliberated on that for a moment and was about to ask why again, when Poe continued speaking and he didn’t want to be rude by interrupting him.

‘They’ve been feeding them too,’ he said.

‘How do you know?’

‘I have ways of _telling_ ….’ Poe gave him a look as if attempting to get across the point with merely his eyes, but clearly Finn wasn’t getting it. Giving up, he pointed to the litter tray in the far corner of the room. ‘From their shit, Finn,’ Poe deadpanned, and Finn made a grossed out noise as he did so. ‘Ain’t pleasant but it’s how you find out for sure,’ he said, amused by Finn’s reaction.

‘Oh, okay…’ Finn said, pulling a disgusted face and making Poe laugh.

He liked it when Poe laughed. The memories kept him warm out on his afternoon patrols, the new Spring air sharp and biting on his face. The walking still left a sizzling ache in the back of his calves and at his knees. It took nearly two weeks for it to start fading. He’d catch sight of BB-8 sometimes, returning home, their fur a distinct orange and white against the backdrop of brick grey and growing green.

Finn learnt that he not only gained more free time, he also got days off. He was still confined to the factory campus but could spend the time how he liked and like all his other free time, he chose to spend it with Poe. The singer did not mind, letting Finn into his flat with a smile the morning of his first day off. They sat down on his soft chair and spoke for hours about music, BB-8, and Poe’s life before his job here. Those parts of his free time were Finn’s favourite. He even ended up sleeping over one night by accident, waking in the late hours of the morning draped over Poe’s side, and quickly pealing himself away before disappearing back to his room.

Not being a worker anymore but still seeing workers around, continuing on with their lives, created a feeling in Finn he couldn’t quite put into words. But whatever it was it made him feel unused and erratic, pacing up down his room to curb this bubbling energy.

He planned to explain this all to Poe and gain an explanation but on the day he intended to do so other things seemed to get in the way.

They met up outside Poe’s flat, since Poe had needed to go off grounds and buy some things from the city market so he was going to be late for their usual rendezvous. He smiled at Finn when he spotted him waiting outside his door, handing over one of his bags to be able to dish his keys out of his pocket and let them inside.

Barely a few metres in and Poe abruptly dropped his bag on the floor, startling Finn when he darted across the room. ‘No, no, no. Fuck!’ he said.

It took Finn a moment to realise what could be wrong, but as he looked about, he noticed everything had been turned over and moved about. Various bits of clothing were scattered on the floor. The sheets on Poe’s bed been pulled up and dispersed messily over the frame. The base cushions to his soft chair were lying on the ground next to it, one clearly ripped open. His kitchen looked almost completely trashed and the window in the corner was wide open, filling the air with an unsettling chill. Finn had no idea who could have done this, but assumed it must have been someone who operated high up in the factory because he knew, from past experience, how hard it was for workers to get this part of the campus.

‘Fucking shit!’ Poe said, hands in his hair, expression desperate. He looked over to the window and practically ran towards it, sticking his head out. ‘BB-8. BB-8!’ he called frantically.

Finn put down his bag and began to gather up the discarded clothes, collecting them on the back of the wrecked soft chair. Poe’s bed was certainly salvageable and the kitchen just needed to a good clean and reorganise. But soft chair cushion would definitely need either stitching back up or replacing. Finn figured Poe would go with the former, it being the cheaper option. ‘What’s wrong?’ he said.

Poe pulled away from the window and started another sweep of the flat. ‘BB-8’s not here,’ Poe said on the move.

‘You don’t need to worry, Poe,’ Finn said picking up the last piece of Poe’s clothes. ‘They’ve probably just gone out to hunt.’

‘I know that. I’m not fucking _blind_ , Finn.’ Poe shot him a dirty look before returning to the window. ‘BB-8! BB-8!’

Finn didn’t like being treated this way especially not by Poe, and hadn’t really expected he ever would be. Nonetheless, BB-8 was not here and that appeared to be causing Poe a lot of distress. He approached him by the window. ‘I don’t understand what you’re so worked up for,’ Finn said, placing a hand on Poe’s shoulder only to have it be shaken off. ‘It’s not that big of a deal, you said they go out to hunt all the time, you just need to wait for them to get—’

‘I can’t afford to wait for them to get back, Finn,’ Poe said, throwing a hand in his direction. The action performed so abruptly, Finn was sure if he hadn’t flinched back in time Poe would have hit him. ‘I _needed_ them fucking here _right now_ to go with Jessika, when she leaves. You just don’t fucking understand. You fu—’

Poe immediately slammed his mouth shut with a click, eyes widening as it finally dawned on him what he’d been saying to Finn. A beat of silence passed between them and then he looked away, turning towards the window and sliding it shut.

‘I’m sorry, Finn,’ Poe eventually said, his voice much quieter and calmer now, his hands remaining on the bottom of the window frame. ‘I shouldn’t have shouted at you like that. You’re only trying to help; you’re _always_ only trying to help me, Finn.’ He looked at him then, eyes sad. ‘And I’m treating you like crap.’ Poe walked away from the window and, after replacing the damaged cushion, slumped down onto his soft chair. He ran his hands over his face and sighed. ‘Damn, I’m such an idiot.’

Finn watched him, waiting for Poe to look up, to say something. And when he did neither, Finn cautiously sat down next to him. Forgetting his own offended feelings, he reached out and took Poe’s hand that was hung limply over his knee. Despite Poe’s reluctance, he laced their fingers together, before bringing it into his lap and holding it there with his other hand as well. He could see Poe watching him do this, but his eyes remained down. ‘Poe, please tell me what’s wrong,’ Finn said, gently. ‘Why does BB-8 need to be here now?’

Finally Poe looked up again and Finn tried a small smile for encouragement.

An expression flashed over Poe’s face that he didn’t quite recognise. But just as soon as it appeared, it was out of sight, and Poe moved his head even further away from Finn this time. When he spoke again, he spoke to the other side of the room. ‘There’s a message. You remember the pouch in BB-8’s collar?’ Firmly pulling his hand free, Poe seemed to have moved on, and looked over at Finn for good. ‘Well Jess and I have been working on a message to put inside there. The plan was for Jessika to take BB-8 when she leaves, and therefore the message, using the collar to sneak it out of the city.’

Finn frowned. ‘What’s so important about this message if you’ve gone to such lengths to hide it?’ he said.

‘Because we believe it needs to be seen by Luke Skywalker,’ Poe said. ‘He’s a co-leader of the Resistance and he’s not dead the way everyone’s been told.’ Even though they were the only ones in the room, he leaned in closer to Finn. ‘Jessika is with the Resistance, Finn. She hired me the day I moved here and we’ve been working on getting important information from out of this factory ever since.’ Poe’s demeanour changed suddenly, becoming resolute, and he placed a firm hand on Finn’s shoulder. ‘Listen to me, Finn. I don’t want you to have anything to do with this, okay? I was a part of the first Resistance and I was there when we got crushed and defeated by the First Order. Therefore, I know our work has been very dangerous and the last thing I want is for you to get hurt, so promise me that once you leave this room, you’ll forget all about it. No matter what happens next, just forget about it all. _Promise me_.’

‘Sure, Poe,’ Finn said, nodding. ‘Sure, whatever you say.’

He hadn’t been lying when he’d said this, he wouldn’t lie to Poe, but the next day, Finn ended up going back on his words. Exponentially.

He was on his second shift of the day, patrolling the grounds of the factory. A strip of fencing covered the outer layer of the factory campus and Finn always liked walking past this because he could see outside into the real world. Admittedly his view was mostly a brick wall but it sufficed nonetheless.

Finn had almost reached the final corner, and would be about to turn back towards the factory, when something familiar caught his eye. He turned to find BB-8 bounding up to the chain link fencing.

They looked at him and meowed loudly.

After throwing a quick glance around for any other Officials, Finn moved closer and tried to figure out what it was that they wanted.

BB-8 kept walking up towards the fence, brushing alongside it like they would were his legs available and when Finn put his fingers through the gaps in chain link, they started to lick them. Perhaps they couldn’t find a way back in and had been waiting nearby until Finn came along to get them inside. BB-8 was a pretty smart cat. They knew he would be patrolling the fence sometimes, usually eyeing him while they headed back home to Poe. Finn wondered why they didn’t just carry on to the window now but maybe something  along the way towards it was cut off so they’d come back here looking for him.

Finn attempted uprooting the fence so he could pull them through the gap but it wouldn’t budge an inch. The only other option was up.

He gazed upwards at the top of the fence and those curls of metal did not look very inviting. Finn searched around for something near the fence for him to climb to make it a little easier to get over the curls. He noticed the nearest factory building, a small hut by one of the warehouses, came up just before the metal curls and looked low enough for Finn to be able to climb up on top of it.

Leading BB-8 towards the building, Finn held his hands up to communicate he wanted them to wait and then carefully scaled the small wall. Once on the roof, he glanced around for any other Officials but came up empty again. From here, he eyed the metal curls and carefully raised his leg alongside them. He slid it into the gap between two curls and then moved it down in an attempt to find a foot hold. When he found one, in a single fluid action Finn swung his other leg over and then quickly moved his body into a crouch position to catch the top of the fence before he fell. Now of the other side, he simply pulled his foot out from under him and used his arms and legs to climb down the fence.

Finn dropped to the ground next to BB-8. They meowed as he picked them up and glanced back up at the fence.

‘Oh no,’ he said.

What had seemed like a genius idea at the time became cut short when only now did he realise there was nothing on this side, near the fence, for him to use to get back over. A wave of panic ran washed over Finn while it slowly dawned on him he'd probably just gotten himself stuck on this side.

Abruptly an alarm rang through the air, one that he'd never heard before. He assumed it must have been because of him, but still no one was around to have seen him slip over the fence in the first place.

Whatever the cause, it made BB-8 jump from his arms and start running towards the rest of the outside world. With no plan for sticking around and getting caught red handed, Finn huffed out a breath and then followed them. It felt like the right thing to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shits about to go down! The longest chapter so far, and I think by far the worst. It’s just gonna keep getting longer and worse from here on out
> 
> NOTE: the next chapter may be a long time coming so please don't think I've given up in that time


	4. The Resistance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I lost my hat.” “Again?!” “T’was my favourite hat.”
> 
> Dude, the amount of times I thought this chapter wasn't going to exist... my writing still sucks, but enjoy
> 
> [TRIGGERING CONTENT WARNING!!! Please read the bottom notes of this chapter for details. (Warning for spoilers, though)]

Rey heard her intruder long before she saw them. She didn’t even need to approach the duracrete stairs to know her door was wide open and when she found it so, she gripped her staff in both hands. The sirens from across the Divider should have been a giveaway to something heading in this direction, but Rey gave up long ago imagining that it would ever have anything to do with her. Silently, she slid her scavenging bag off her shoulder and put it on the ground at the top of the stairs to make her stealth walking easier. The intruder was talking, but from what Rey could make out whoever they were _talking to_ wasn’t responding. 

‘Come on, we need to go. We can’t stay here. We need to go. Please. _Please_ ,’ they said whilst Rey made her way carefully down the stairs.

At the bottom, she was greeted by the sight of young man standing in the middle of her home, pleading with an alert BB-8, perched up on the ledge next to the high window. The boy had strong dark brown skin and short brown hair, and he wore a black uniform of the First Order.

They’d finally found her. After over half a year of silence, they'd finally done it.

Suppressing her panic, Rey knew she needed to think of a plan, and one that didn’t involve her getting killed or, worse, captured. There appeared to be only one of them for now, so she concentrated on that and would think of the next step later.

First, she had to disarm this one. Like a ghost, she approached the door and stepped inside. The boy was taller than her, only by a head but still important, therefore Rey needed something to jump on to avoid giving him the advantage. She could reach her bed in a couple of seconds, she just hoped his reflexes weren’t that fast.

Still unsuccessfully pleading with BB-8, the boy didn’t even react until after Rey had charged for the bed, jumped up and swung her staff around, colliding it with his jaw. The intruder made a noise and then fell backwards to the ground.

Rey hadn’t knocked him out and she stayed on the bed. Pointing the staff at his startled face, Rey said, she _demanded_ , ‘what are you doing in my home?’

BB-8 meowed and leapt down, instantly joining the intruder’s side. Rey thought of telling them to run but, no, she’d deal with this boy first.

Surprisingly the intruder held up his hands in defeat; Rey assumed a First Order agent would be tougher than this, or less subtle at least. ‘Whoa, whoa,’ he said, a slither of blood dribbling down his chin. He must have bit his tongue when Rey hit him. ‘I’m not here to take anything. I just want the cat.’

Rey didn’t know what to think of that. What kind of game was he trying to play? Either way, ‘well the cat’s not going with you,’ she said. ‘So you can leave now.’ She nudged her staff upwards slightly to indicate the way out.

The intruder kept his hand firmly up with no indication of moving. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘But I’m not going anywhere without BB-8.’

He knew their name. Rey was sure she hadn’t given it away as of yet, although he still could have read their collar before she’d arrived. She glanced at BB-8, still standing by the side of his chest, and then watched as they lifted their head towards his raised hand like they wanted to nuzzle it. So they knew each other? BB-8 would never be that comfortable around a stranger, especially one trying to steal them. ‘Who are you?’ she said, narrowing her eyes and keeping her staff elevated.

The intruder finally wiped his chin and shifted upwards to lean on his elbows. ‘I’m a worker at the factor. I saw BB-8 was stuck outside the perimeter.’ He indicated towards them with a hand. ‘I tried to climb over to retrieve them and ended up getting stuck outside myself. BB-8 scarpered... I didn’t want to lose them… the next thing I know I’m here.’ His hand shifted up to the top of his head, patting his hair. ‘I think I lost my hat.’

Rey regarded him once more. Dust and dirt covered his scuffed boots, some even in his hair, and his clothes were dishevelled in way that made him look like he’d been running for a very long time and not very well. Abruptly she became aware that this jacket and belt combination was not a First Order design she had often seen around the city. In fact, those clothes were only worn by the people inside the Durasteel Factory across the Divider. She had seen them from peering in through the chain link fence. They would patrol the internal perimeter and throw rocks at the poor folk who got too close.

Perhaps he wasn’t the FO agent she’d immediately presumed. He would have tried a number on her by now at least, if he were.

Finally Rey lowered her staff. She jumped off the bed and walked over to her window, climbing up the ledge with her back to it, remaining wary of his presence. ‘I heard sirens,’ she said, glancing out of the grimy window and searching for real First Order police. From here, she could just about make out the opening to Niima Outpost. ‘Were they for you?’

‘Probably.’ He shrugged, remaining in the same position on the floor.

A huge chunk of his story remained illogical to her. How could a worker escape the Durasteel Factory, when everyone knew the people inside had been raised from birth to do one thing and that was work? They became a sign of the First Order’s power, of how they could create people like cattle, to serve one purpose in life until they died. Even the workers didn’t know what they actually were.

The obvious answer, he wasn’t a worker, especially dressed like that. Why did he call himself one then?

Flashes of white caught Rey’s eye and, leaning further to the side, she saw them, not First Order police but Stormtroopers, beginning their decent on Niima Outpost once again. It made sense if a worker had escaped for the First Order to send in their muscle to find him, get the job done quick. The fear bubbled in her stomach and the images of Devi, scared and crying, about to be shoved into a dark van, were still fresh in her mind.

‘Look,’ he said, cutting her panic short. When Rey turned back to him he was stood up now, eyeing BB-8 cleaning themselves, yet again, on the cot. ‘BB-8 needs to get back to the factory right away; they belong to Poe Dameron and he—’

‘Poe?’ Rey said, suddenly enthused. Forgetting her previous inclination towards the situation, she jumped down and moved over to him. ‘He _is_ alive?’

The boy frowned. ‘You know him too?’ he said.

Rey shook her head. ‘No, I don’t, but there’s a note in the cat’s collar. _If found lost or dead please return to Poe Dameron. No current known address_.’ She only realised now that she knew this note off by heart. Admittedly, she had read it over a gazillion times while waiting for a reply to her message.

‘Well that note apparently contains information which needs to be seen by Luke Skywalker.’

‘Luke Skywalker?’ she said. Rey’s heartbeat increased tenfold; BB-8 really had brought the Resistance to her door. ‘Are you serious? I thought that guy was a myth. Are you with the Resistance then?’

‘No,’ the boy said, unfortunately. ‘But my friend Poe is and he really needs his cat back immediately.’

‘Well, I doubt you’ll get anywhere with all those Stormtroopers running about,’ Rey said, remembering. She threw a thumb backwards over her shoulder.

‘Stormtroopers?!’ Quickly the boy darted across to the window, using his foot to boost him up, and looked out. It took him awhile to locate them. ‘Great,’ he said, hand on his hair. ‘Now the last thing I can do is go back.’ After a minute he slowly moved back down and walked over to Rey. ‘Um, would you mind if I stayed here..?’ he said, sheepishly.

She looked at him with careful consideration. ‘Looking like that I would. You’re covered head-to-toe in First Order insignia. You’d stick out like a sore thumb,’ she said, before heading back out the room to collect her bag. She was still not sure what to make of it all, but maybe this would be her chance to help the Resistance like she _had_ wanted. If anything else, the boy clearly had nowhere else to go and Rey didn’t want guilt like that preying on her mind again. She returned and, dumping the bag down on her cot, began to rummage inside. ‘You’re lucky I scavenged some trousers today that might be your size.’ Finding them, Rey chucked the trousers at the boy. ‘Here, try these on and lose the jacket.’

He barely caught them before the clothes collided with his head and smacked him in the face. Startled, he pulled them off and then looked at Rey. ‘Thank you,’ he said and she could easily see he was trying his best to be as sincere as possible.

‘You’re welcome,’ Rey said, after a sigh. ‘But don’t get too comfortable. You’re leaving once they’re gone.’

The trousers fitted perfectly – what luck? – and under his jacket the boy wore a black vest. A little revealing for this sharp Spring weather but no longer First Order attire, and why was Rey to care if he got cold. She tried removing the First Order symbol from the shoulders of the jacket, then maybe he could wear it again, but the insignia badge had been sewn so finely into the fabric that when she cut it away, the jacket went with it and left two holes on either side. Rey offered to cover them over with other scavenged material, however, the boy declined, saying he would be fine and she should trade them if that’s what she wanted.

A worker who’d spent his whole life inside a warm factory would certainly underestimate the weather like that, Rey could hear herself thinking.

At this point, she realised she didn’t know his name but briskly determined she didn’t want to know because that would make it harder to move on when he inevitably left too. Rey actually hadn’t traded in her scavenges for the day, therefore, once the worker was suitably dressed, she left him alone with BB-8. She cut off the top of his leather boots and took that to trade as well, it clearly being a struggle for him to get them on over his new trousers.

Unkar Plutt gazed down at her through glassy eyes with his usual sourness, after Rey approached his station. Annoyingly he took his time today, umming and ahhing about her items while the undisturbed Stormtroopers made their way gradually through the trading yard and washing stations.

Rey tried not to let it bother her but their presence was so close she could almost hear their armour clanking together where it caught at the joints and fear swarmed her mind like oil drowning a struggling bird.

When he finally spoke, Unkar then laughed as he had made Rey visibly jump on the spot. ‘Away with your thoughts, little girl,’ he said, sneering. ‘Hmm, what you have brought me today is worth, three half portions and one quarter portion.’

She frowned at the unfair proposition. ‘But last week you said any clothing would be worth a half portion each at least,’ she said, unable to not spot the Stormtrooper now coming up at her far left.

‘Take it or leave it, Rey.’

She wanted to argue longer and get her fair share and would have, if not for the Stormtroopers gathering greater and greater, all around like hungry crows. _They couldn’t know_ ; _they have no way of knowing_ , she kept repeating in her head to calm her breathing. With a forced huff, she took the portions and ran back home to the worker and BB-8.

He stared at her oddly as Rey came gallivanting back into her home and slammed the door shut. Plastered against it, she looked from him to BB-8, then swung her staff over her shoulder and began to prepare dinner. He stayed on the bed the whole time, obviously not sure what to do with himself. Once done, Rey handed him his bowl and joined him on the end of the cot.

They ate in pure silence.

Rey glanced at the worker a couple of times, his shoulders tense, eyes cast down, his mind unmistakably working through several thoughts at once and no wonder if his story was to be believed. He’d just come from nothing and been thrust into the real world. Anyone in their right mind would be scared and confused by that.

Finishing up, she put her bowl down in her lap. ‘So what does it say then?’ Rey said, voice strong and loud against the darkening room.

He turned to her, a little dumfounded by the question at first. However, it soon clicked in his head. ‘What, the message?’ he said. ‘I don’t know; Poe never showed me. He… only said it was in the collar and that our other friend was supposed to take BB-8 out of the city, yesterday, but they got let out during a break-in and weren’t there for the pick up.’

‘Why don’t we take a look then?’ Rey said and, before he could protest, she got up, put her bowl to the side and picked up BB-8 along the way back to the bed, sitting down with them in her lap. ‘In the collar, right?’

The worker nodded and watched her, intrigued, the bowl held tightly in his hands.

Rey slipped her fingers into the tiny pouch, like she’d down a thousand times before, and pulled out the folded flimsi. The worker leaned over as she unfolded it and then they both frowned at what was written inside.

‘It’s… just a bunch of funny-looking symbols. It doesn’t make any sense,’ Rey said. She turned it over; the other side was blank. She felt disappointed since it meant Poe had definitely found her message and chosen not to reply.

‘Maybe it’s coded,’ the worker said. ‘If the message was in Basic, anyone could read it but by making it coded, means only the right people will understand what it says.’

Rey nodded but said nothing, kind of wishing she’d thought of that. She let him take the note from her hand to examine it himself, choosing in that moment to retrieve the bowl off his lap and place it in the corner with other one. It would be a waste of water to wash them, better to wait until the excess food had turned dry and brittle and then it could be scrubbed them clean with a brush. Immediately she noticed that when their bowls were put together, he’d eaten just as much of his food as he could, same as her. Both were so hungry.

Rey could no longer ignore this compassion inching at the back of her mind and needed to honestly admit to herself that she did, indeed, want to help this boy. Why would she have let him stay for so long? She could have easily thrown him out on the street, left him to fend for himself, it’s what any of her neighbours would have done or suggested. But she didn’t. Her world wasn’t made for this; the kindness of others could clearly not be relied on, so why choose to give it out to other people?

And yet, she still wanted to help. Rey wanted to help this worker. She wanted to him get out of the city, help him take BB-8 to the Resistance, and help him fight back against the First Order.

It would be a way to see off BB-8, at any rate. If they were truly needed by the Resistance, Rey was willing to let them go as well.

‘Listen,’ she said standing and turning to face him. ‘I’ve decided and… I will help you get BB-8 out of the city.’

To her surprise, the worker looked confused. ‘Out of the city?’ he said, folding up the note again. He held it out to her, likely because he knew she could get the note back inside BB-8’s pouch better than him.

‘To the Resistance base you said Poe’s friend was probably headed to,’ Rey said, taking the note and calling BB-8 over.

‘Oh yeah. I hadn’t thought of that,’ he said. Well, what had he been thinking about then? ‘I suppose it’s too dangerous to get BB-8 back now, the only option left is… to move forward.’

Finished, Rey moved to stand in front of him. ‘I can get you out but from there on, you’re on your own. I’ll need to head back here, to Jakku.’

BB-8 leapt up onto the bed next to the worker, beginning to curve their body along his tensing frame. Seeing he wasn’t enjoying the attention they moved away and disappeared up the length of Rey’s cot. They’d never stayed this late at her home before, Rey wondered where they would sleep, and also hoped they wouldn’t try to run back to Poe in the night.

The worker made a face. ‘Jakku? If you can get out why would you want to stay here? You got a family…’ He looked down awkwardly. ‘Or a boyfriend or something?’

‘None of your business that’s why,’ Rey said firmly, hands on her hips. She walked away then to locate her extra blankets. The last time she’d used them was with Devi and Strunk, meaning she hadn’t bothered to keep immense track of their whereabouts since their last use.

‘Okay,’ she heard the worker mumble under his breath. ‘ _How_ are we gonna get out?’ he said from across the room.

She found the blankets stuffed beside her travel simulator. They were clumped at the top like something heavier had been resting on them and squished them far down. Being a common hiding place for her scavenging bag, perhaps she’d left it on top one time without noticing, after intending to pack the blankets away later. ‘We’d have to nick a car, only way to outrun the Stormtroopers,’ Rey explained, now carefully pulling her blankets free.

‘We need a driver then.’

Rey paused her work and turned to look at him. ‘Excuse me, we’ve got one here.’

‘You..? Okay,’ the worker said, nodding.

She finally pulled the blankets free and came back over to hand them to him. ‘We’ll head out in the morning, best time to find a car and jumpstart it undisturbed. We should sleep now to gain the energy,’ she said.

He took the blankets without question. ‘Okay.’

Rey paused, not sure how to say the next bit. ‘I’d offer you the bed but…’ she said, racking her brain for a polite way of putting it.

‘It’s alright; your bed is too soft for me anyway,’ he said. The worker stood up and began to make his own bed on the large expanse of floor.

Rey tried to sleep but even with BB-8’s soft purring and even _without_ the worker’s low guttural snoring, she doubted she would have gotten barely a wink of sleep regardless. She needed silence to sleep and her mind was far too noisy for that tonight through trying to make sense of the day’s events at the same time as put together her plan of action for tomorrow morning. Perhaps it was better to have stayed up in the end, for if she had slept, Rey seemed sure she would have missed their early morning rise.

She woke the worker and he started awake with a grunt.

‘We need to go,’ Rey said by way of an explanation, searching out for her things in the dark.

‘Okay,’ he said and started to gather himself up as well.

With BB-8 trailing behind, they were out the door in just under a couple of minutes, quietly heading up the stairs and along the duracrete passage of her home towards Niima Outpost yard. Once out in the open, navigation became a little easier under the half moon. Rey – and she assumed the worker too – knew the drill of the First Order and it was most definitely going to be the case that the Stormtroopers would still be around. Even if it seemed like there weren’t.

They crouched by a wall next to the empty trading yard, BB-8 slipping between their sets of bent legs.

Rey studied the perimeter but struggled to see anything definitive in the dim light. She turned to the worker, whispering, ‘the car we want is in a garage beyond that building,’ she gestured towards Unkar trading station. ‘I can’t see any Stormtroopers about, but stay on high alert, cause none of them will have left yet.’

‘High alert,’ the worker echoed, also whispering but looking about like he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. ‘Got ya.’

‘BB-8, stay close,’ she said to the cat, before they slipped across the yard and along the thick passageway around to the back of the building.

There rested another open yard, which stretched out across the moonlit ground, lined by two large warehouses and a wall at the far end to connect them both. Hiding in the shadows of the passageway for a moment, Rey tried to remember which of the four large shutter doors she wanted to head behind; it had been a few years since she had been allowed back here. Oh Force, what if Unkar had reorganised and moved the car she planned to take? A 28SL Pierce Silver Arrow, nicknamed the Quadjumper and owned by a group of independent weapons dealers Unkar rented out the storage space for. It lacked the potential for speed that Rey currently desired, but what it lacked in one department it made up for in quietness. And above all, she really needed a silent car to jumpstart right now.

Rey went for the second door on the far side of the yard, leading the worker and BB-8 quickly along the shadow of the trades building to keep them in the dark. She pulled a small filer from her belt bag and began the tenuous task of filing open a link on the chain securing down the shutter door. The worker wordlessly became a lookout whilst she worked, despite the fact he possessed absolutely nothing to defend them with, should they have gotten caught.

Eventually the link broke and, once unlocked, Rey pulled the shutter door up a small fraction, letting BB-8 slip inside, and instructing the worker to hurry up and do the same when he simply stood there, staring at her puzzlingly.

The Quadjumper sat calmly in the corner, reflecting the light of her freshly switched on flashlight. Rey made her way over to it.

She’d never stolen a fully-operational car before, hopefully there wasn’t something quintessential to the process that she happened to be missing. In fact Rey didn’t even know the way out of the city, but with working head lights this time around, she’d be able to just read the signs that directed the way.

Rey went to touch the 28SL’s silver frame when the worker said suddenly, ‘what about that one?’

She glanced over her shoulder at him. ‘Which one?’

‘That one,’ he said, pointing this time.

He indicated towards the only other fully-assembled vehicle in the room, a large double-decked bus that had been here about half the time Rey had. A long time before then, someone had completely cleared out its seated interior and replaced it with enough living space for almost four people, like they’d wanted it to be a portable home instead of a public transport vehicle. They’d also redone the paint job to an _against-First-Order-regulations_ grey and relocated the century old engine towards the rear end to give it more power than most buses its sizes. Quite a nifty piece of machinery, actually. And Rey hated it bitterly because it had caused Unkar to cut her usual ration trade rates down for a whole month around the time it first arrived. ‘Nah,’ she said. ‘That one’s far too noisy, would attract too much attention. Plus it’s garbage; not even worth stealing.’

Rey tried the door, just in case it was unlocked, but, really, she knew Unkar wouldn’t be _that_ stupid. She thought of maybe smashing the window but it might set off the alarm and unnecessary noise was still a big no-no. All that remained was an odd breaking in technique, she’d been shown a few long years ago, which may work on a model such as this.

Rey attempted it anyway and… the door popped open with a nice click.

Flashing a smile at the worker, they clambered inside. BB-8 took the back seat as Rey leant down to carefully open up the wiring compartment under the wheel and find what she needed to jumpstart the car.

So consumed in their criminal efforts were they that neither of them noticed Rey had left the shutter door open a slight fraction and now someone had entered the yard who, in a couple of seconds, would notice it instead.

In fact, she popped her head back up just in time to catch the shutter door being abruptly flung fully open and a lone Stormtrooper being revealed in the moonlight with its blaster raised.

It didn’t spot them at first, carefully scanning the area for hostiles, but then the 28SL engine chose that _perfect_ moment to make a loud spluttering noise, followed by a bang, before it then began to hiss, and smoke started to rise from the bonnet.

Clearly no longer useable as a getaway car, Rey declared, ‘okay, so the garbage will have to do.’

The Stormtrooper pointed its blaster in their direction and fired, narrowly missing the worker’s head as they all darted out of their current vehicle and legged it for the grey bus. The trooper fired more shots, blaster bullets bouncing off the surroundings and leaving scorch marks on the wall behind, until they managed to reach cover.

Rey immediately shimmied over to the bus door and found, to her surprise, it was still busted like the day when Unkar had acquired it, only secured shut now with another lot of chain link and a padlock. Luckily in a covered position, she crouched down to examine it.

A few shots landed nearby again while the Stormtrooper made its way across the warehouse towards them.

Quickly Rey pulled out her smaller tools and went for the padlock this time, it being faster to pick open than to bother filing down one of the chain links, the worker acting once more as a lookout, but this time with some large rocks at his disposal on the floor around them. If thrown hard enough they could work, if a little makeshift, as weapons. Rey didn’t even think to use them; her youthful swing probably wouldn’t contain enough strength yet. He dashed forward to grab a few before returning to Rey’s side. BB-8 stared at him in confusion, back hunched and fur risen. She was vaguely aware of his arm swinging out suddenly as he threw the rocks towards the approaching Stormtrooper.

Finally getting a hit to the head, the Stormtrooper tumbled backwards. However, the move caused its blaster to fire a shot almost directly above Rey’s head. She screamed and darted downwards to the ground through instinct.

The worker immediately stopped celebrating and reached out a hand towards her. ‘Are you okay?’ he said, concerned eyes shining in the dim room.

In all her life no one had ever asked Rey this question. She looked at him and nodded. ‘Yeah,’ she said, the lock springing open in her hands. ‘Come on, it’s open. We should get inside before another one else appears.’

Rey and the worker rushed up the steps and onto the double-decker. She headed straight for the driver’s cubical at the other end, while he stayed behind to shut the door again and make sure they hadn’t left BB-8 outside.

Rey leapt over the barrier, rather than opening it, and hopped into the solid front seat. She grabbed the keys conveniently hanging from a hook in front of her and started up the engine, hearing it rumble to life by the rear end of the vehicle at a volume definitely far too loud for their inconspicuous getaway, but it would have to do for now.

The worker appeared at her side. ‘You sure you’re okay for driving this thing?’ he said, hand on the back of her seat.

Rey checked all of the parts she needed to for the bus to actually move, a tank containing fuel, working headlights, a clutch that could bite. ‘Well, it hasn’t been driven in years, but it should be fine,’ she said with a shrug. A flash of white and orange indicated BB-8 had joined her side as well.

‘Great,’ came the mumble from his lips as he took the seat next to her, strapping himself in.

Rey shot him a dirty look before she put the bus in gear, slowly pulled the clutch up, and they were away. However, the vehicle possessed far more power than she had originally anticipated and, at first, she almost shot forward too far, only just scraping past the wrecked Quadjumper and accumulating to more noise. Thanks to that Stormtrooper the shutter door was wide open for them and Rey aimed for the top corner of the yard to give herself plenty of room to get the bus around and into the passageway out, BB-8 screeching as they unexpectedly got caught up in the momentum and tumbled to the floor.

For a moment it seemed like they were actually going to get away with it after all, despite the current mishaps and vehicle change. Then Rey entered the trading yard and was greeted by a squadron of Stormtroopers, primed and ready to sweep the area.

‘Oh no,’ she cursed, before increasing the speed and heading straight for them.

It took them a second to realise she was serious and dart out the way. She didn’t want to think about what would have happened if she’d hit one of them. Rey kept the speed up high as she drove for the exit of Niima Outpost, just catching a glimpse of Unkar in the vertical wing mirror, feebly chasing after the bus and shouting. Then he disappeared out of sight along with the rest of the trading yard. She didn’t catch a word of what he had said.

There were more Stormtroopers posted all along the poor folk streets, sprouting up like bugs on a dying tree and taking note of Rey and the worker’s ever-increasing presence. But the power of the double-decker meant they didn’t linger near them for long and by the time she reached a couple of Outposts down, it seemed the whole company of soldiers had been alerted through their actions. Whether they knew they had BB-8 and the message for Luke Skywalker, Rey couldn’t be sure. But she didn’t want to take that chance and knowing the First Order, they would pursue them regardless with the plan of punishing them just for the disruption to their Stormtroopers.

‘We need to find some cover,’ the worker said, shouting over the chaos of blaster bullets and the scream of the bus engine. ‘Somewhere to hide, where we can lose them.’

Lights flicked on in the passing houses, some owners now entering the streets in curiosity.

‘I agree,’ Rey said, although she found it hard to concentrate on where to go while dodging all these bullets and Stormtroopers. Reflections of light in her wing mirror. And two cars were on the road behind them, small compact vehicles that compensated space for less weight and therefore better speed. If Rey remembered correctly they were known as T.I.E. Fighters. She turned to him, ‘we’ve got two on our tail.’

‘Okay,’ he said, unstrapping himself from his seat. ‘I’ll find a way to get them off.’ He then disappeared down the bus. Sharing a glance with BB-8, Rey was a little confused at how he would do that, yet a minute later she heard footsteps on the level above.

They appeared to be few good minutes from the Divider, but Rey thought it best to lose these T.I.E. Fighters before then, especially since they were very intent on stopping her in that time. She caught sight of a Fighter coming up alongside the bus and tried to ram into it, but the little machine zipped forward out the way.

And now there was one in front of her. _Wonderful_.

‘There’s a turning to the left up ahead,’ the worker said suddenly, his voice travelling well through the bus walls. ‘You see it?’

Rey scanned the streets ahead and spotted the corner in question rapidly coming towards them. ‘Yeah, I see it.’

But the worker went silent. Rey had concluded he must have changed his plan because, from her view, it looked too tight a corner to get a vehicle of this size around. But then, right up until almost near the corner, a metre away and he abruptly shouted, ‘okay! You gotta start turning now!’

‘What?!’ Rey said, hands hesitant over the wheel.

‘Trust me! Do it!’

Rey always struggled to trust people when they asked, even if on the rare occasions they trusted her in return, but she could clearly see if she did this move and he meant for it to intentionally go wrong, it would hurt him as well. So she took a deep breath and then spun the wheel with as much force as she could muster.

A loud screech violently shuddered through the double-decker as its wheels tried to accommodate to the sudden change of direction at this speed. Rey was jolted to the side, colliding with the open side of the driver seat cubical and she heard the worker tumble about above her. BB-8 gave another screech from wherever they were on the floor. After a second, she could feel the bus start to tilt from the strong momentum; they weren’t going to make it.

Thinking fast, Rey acted through her instincts and pulled up the handbrake to stop the wheels, let the bus catch up with itself. Then when it had lined up with the new direction, she swung the wheel back around and, to avoid losing speed, eased on the acceleration again.

In matter of seconds and one smooth motion, they had turned and disappeared down this corner. Rey watched in her wing mirror as the T.I.E. Fighters struggled to keep up. Having been originally hidden by their bus’ large bulk, the one from ahead of them abruptly reversed backwards into the other before they could become aware of themselves. In fact, now their crashed vehicles even blocked the street entrance for any other T.I.E. Fighters planning to move in their direction. The worker let out a cheer from above her and Rey wasted no time vanishing into the labyrinth of streets ahead of them.

By the time she crossed the Divider, the Stormtroopers appeared lost far behind thanks to that element of surprise and the worker’s excellent choice in directing. She kept up the diverting course in case one or two were still hidden on their tail somewhere but after a couple of minutes it felt pointless. This bus was a big vehicle so no amount of diverting would stop it from eventually getting spotted again. Their only option left was to leave the city as quickly as they could. With real headlights lighting the way, Rey followed through with that plan.

At this point, the worker made his way back down and joined Rey at the front once more. They greeted each other with an unhindered joy, both clearly impressed with the other’s skills, and, in their gleeful expulsion, they soon ended up talking over each other.

Finn: ‘That was some driving back there.’

Rey: ‘Thanks! Your directions really helped a lot.’

Finn: ‘No one ever trained you to do that? Taught you what to do?’

Rey: ‘No. I’ve driven across Jakku before and some other places but not at that speed.’

Finn: ‘That was amazing!’

Rey: ‘Your plan was spot on. How did you think it up so quickly?’

Finn: ‘You’re the one who followed it through smoothly. It was pretty good.’

Rey: ‘It was perfect.’

In the end, they arrived at a mutual silence, smiling at each other, neither one barely used to feeling such a strong camaraderie for another human being before.

Then BB-8’s insistent meow, from the makeshift surface top behind, brought Rey to the present, and she turned her eyes back to the road as the worker extended out a hesitant hand to pet them.

They let him ran a few fingers until past their ears and then hopped inside the driver’s cubicle, coming up alongside Rey’s arm.

She briefly smiled down at them and threw a glance at the worker. ‘Seems BB-8 adheres to me more than you,’ Rey said as a jab.

She expected him to huff or scoff and become jealous but surprisingly he simply said, ‘yeah.’ He agreed with her. ‘Well, I’m not particularly into the way they can just sneak up on you like that without even trying.’ He shook his head, the action making him visibly uneasy even at the thought.

‘Maybe you need to pay more attention then,’ she said, still jabbing, couldn’t help it.

But again he just agreed with her. ‘Yeah, maybe,’ he said with a shrug.

Rey looked at the worker for a second and finally kicked herself internally for trying to provoke him like that. If anything, she could part way say she hadn’t even been aware of her actions at first. The fact she treated him in such a way appeared without an answer, and perhaps she was not used to being around genuinely nice people for a change. In her world, life was cruel and the people even crueller. Rey had adapted to the environment and turned herself cold and callous in the process, able to shut herself off to feeling anything of significance for any other living being at a moment’s notice. But no amount of time could allow her to adjust or even like this concept; she did it because she had to, nothing more.

But him? He was warm and bright like a Sun that contained so much energy, they didn’t know what to do with it all, and so they gave it to anyone and everyone they met just to stop themselves from internally imploding. He seemed to reel Rey in from the cold.

But, despite the fresh warmth, she fought him. Because deep down she was not sure what she would become if she gave up and let the sun in, and that in all honesty scared her a little. She was afraid of the dark but, nonetheless, it remained her home.

Rey realised, abruptly, she hadn’t asked for his name yet. Having gone back on her original plan to leave him to fend for himself, she saw it fit to now let herself know. ‘I never asked for your name,’ she said, throwing him a side glance.

‘It’s Finn,’ he said, plainly. ‘What’s yours?’

She smiled. ‘I’m Rey.’

‘Wait…’ Finn pulled a face abruptly and held up a hand at her. ‘Rey? As in cat message Rey?

‘I did leave a message in BB-8’s collar if that’s what you mean?’ Rey said, confused at where he was going with this.

To her surprise, Finn smiled and placed his hand down on her shoulder, presumably since he was unable to shake her hand because of the driving. ‘It’s nice to finally meet you,’ he said. ‘Poe got your message by the way.’

‘Oh, he did, did he?’ she said with the narrowing of her eyes. ‘Why didn’t he reply then?’

Finn looked away. ‘It’s very complicated.’

‘I think we have time,’ Rey said and just as the words left her mouth, she caught sight of the police vehicle behind them. Red and black, even in the dark the colours of the First Order stood out, the black becoming like a shadow and sliding up behind them. ‘Or not,’ she said, suddenly taut. They’d been spotted earlier than she had expected and it threw her off motion for a second.

After she indicated backward, Finn followed the direction and immediately his shoulders slumped too. ‘That can’t be good,’ he said, turning back.

‘No it isn’t,’ she said in concurrence. ‘Can you see if it’s Stormtroopers or the police?’ since her view didn’t elaborate on that.

Finn nodded and got up, sliding down the bus and pushing his face against one of the far windows. After a while, he exhaled. ‘It’s only the police this time, don’t worry,’ he said and BB-8 meowed solemnly.

‘ _Don’t worry_?’ Rey exclaimed at his apparent naivety to the situation. ‘The police are still a big problem, Finn,’ she said. She spied them in her wing mirror and waited for the signal to pull over.

'Are you sure?' Finn said. 'They don't feel like a problem?'

When the signal was unfortunately given, Rey deliberated on whether to really go through with it or not. These police may not necessarily be stopping them for the reasons first believed, so there remained a chance for them to be able to get away unscathed, right? But, on the other hand, failing to cooperate would definitely get them in trouble. Sighing, Rey listened to the feeling in her chest and did as instructed, beginning to park the bus at the side of the road.

Also, come to think of it, she didn’t know how far from the edge of the city they were. That created a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, since that didn’t help if they needed to make a run for it.

The police car slipped behind them to park as well and, a few silent moments later, a series of taps beat against the rear door. ‘Can you exit the vehicle please?’ a low voice shouted through to inside.

Immediately Rey and Finn shared a look, but with nothing of defence at their disposal this time around, they simply stood up and walked together towards the door. BB-8 bounded up alongside and Rey picked them up into her arms for want of something to hold as Finn opened the door. Although, they soon needed to be put down again after the blaster pointed in their direction was spotted.

Hands held up, they all stepped out of the bus to find a distinctively old-looking man and a much taller man waiting for them. They were donned in the crisp black and red-lined uniform of First Order police officers, except wasn't it against FO regulation to allow their uniforms to get that scruffy and creased?

The taller man had quite a substantial amount of hair on his face, a lot more than any other man she’d ever seen, so Rey struggled to make out his features in the dark. She didn’t need to in this moment, however, to feel intimated by him.

With the older man, by laying her eyes upon him, her fear seemed to shrink away almost entirely. His pink face appeared creased not just from age but worry too and all troublesome things that came with that. His grey hair had long since faded of whatever colour it used to be and his frame, if anything, looked battered.

But Rey pushed aside her pity and noted that when they needed to run she could take him down at least. Only the hope that with his size meant he was slow could defend her against the taller, hairy man.

Strangely, now with everyone off the bus, the older man regarded them with an air of something similar to disappointment and then exhaled loudly. ‘Okay, which one of you is, uh, the driver?’ he said with a wriggle of his blaster hand.

‘I am,’ Rey said, gently.

‘You lair,’ the taller, hairy man said, roaring out his words in the Ancient dialect of the Wookiee Kashyyyk.

Initially it startled Rey, being such a rough language, rather than confused her. That came next; his language was believed to be dead like all others, at least in this country. Under the rule of the First Order, literature of any form that contained non-Basic languages had to be changed to Basic through the policy called Orderification. A superior cultural assimilation process, to put it another way, brought about to greater bind together the people of this country. Why was one of their police officers speaking Wookiee then? Rey would have thought on it more, had she not currently been terrified for her life.

‘I’m not lying,’ she said desperately, shaking her head. ‘I swear, it’s the truth.’

‘You can understand what just came out of his mouth?’ Finn said, unabashedly, making a pang of fear run straight through Rey that this was what would get them killed right there on the spot. Perhaps he genuinely was more ignorant to the situation than Rey had anticipated. _And a worker would be_ , her instincts were telling her.

She shot him a dirty look as way of saying _don’t say something that stupid again_.

‘Watch it,’ was all the old man said, thankfully, in a sharp tone and raising a firm finger at him, ‘because he can understand what comes out yours perfectly fine.’

Despite that small consequence, Rey still kicked Finn’s shin as well, _see the trouble you just got us in?_ She didn’t bother to check for his reaction.

Then to add even greater chaos to the whole situation, the taller man turned to his partner and unexpectedly said, ‘I don’t think they’re a threat.’

The older man side-eyed him for a moment, before he gestured for him to come closer and they both turned away muttering lowly, so neither Rey nor Finn could hear them. His blaster remained poised, however, ready to shoot in case one of them got the wrong idea.

After a minute or so and apparently much disagreement, the older man sighed once more. ‘Fine,’ he said and then turned to face Rey and Finn again. He flicked his wrist downwardly. ‘Alright, put your hands down.’

The action so rightfully unexpected that at first neither of them obeyed.

This only caused the old man’s face to flash with more annoyance. ‘Do I have to spell it out for you?’ he said. ‘We’re not real police, put your hands down.’ After throwing his hand down again, he turned to his partner. ‘We need to get this thing off the road as soon as possible.’

Rey and Finn looked at each other for a form of clarification. But upon finding none, they decided to both slowly lower their hands.

To recap, they had just been stopped by two men who seemed to not actually be First Order police. Well, if so, then who were they really and what did they want with Finn and Rey? Just because they weren’t one danger didn’t mean they couldn’t be another.

‘Chewie, hide the car while I boot up,’ the older man said. ‘You two,’ he pointed a finger at them, ‘come with me.’

Apprehensive, they followed him back on board the bus, BB-8 disappearing up to the second level, probably to avoid the confrontation.

Once they were quite a distance down the first level, he spun around to face them. ‘Where did you find it?’ he said, his expression serious. ‘And I want the truth.’

‘Niima Outpost,’ Rey said.

‘In Jakku. That junkyard.’

‘See,’ Finn leaned towards her and whispered, ‘it’s a junkyard. Not worth coming back to.’

Rey flicked his elbow, whispering too, ‘shut it!’

The old man remained obvious to their petty teasing and ran a hand through his hair, taking a second to straighten his now presumably-stolen police jacket. ‘I told Chewie we should have double checked our sources from the poor folk.’ Speaking of which, he began to check the bus.

This man’s knowledge of Rey’s side of the city definitely didn’t parallel that of a typical police officer. As long as they stayed on their side of the Divider, the First Order police system often wanted nothing to do with poor folk like her – unless they were, perhaps, tracking a valuable Jedi or desperately trying to cover up their asses. But even when they did disappear undercover in amongst them, the agents certainly never bothered to learn any of their jargon that was for sure. It made them stand out like a sore thumb dipped in red paint. This man and his partner stood out as well but not in the same way. He’d recognised their chosen Outpost names in an instant, she realised; Rey remembered a few years back the First Order renamed them all for their own purposes. A true police officer would have surely gone by those new names instead.

Rey watched him shuffle about the bus, checking compartments and the various gadgets donning the walls, and decided she wanted answers. She took a firm step towards him. ‘If you’re not real police officers, then who _are_ you?’ she said.

He looked at her firmly and took a second to regard her intentions. ‘Really, I should be asking you that,’ the man said, throwing her a testing expression. He returned to his rummaging, but then, after a moment, he considered her inquiry and turned back to say, ‘I’m Han Solo and this…’ he pointed up, ‘this is my Millennium Falcon.’

Rey’s heart rate rose tenfold. ‘You’re Han Solo?!’ she said, excitement filling her lungs. ‘This is the Millennium Falcon?!’

‘Kid, I just said that…’ Han spoke in a quiet voice.

Confused, Finn caught her shoulder. ‘Wait,’ he said, ‘who’s Han Solo?’

‘He’s a Rebel General,’ she said, ‘or— or was he a smuggler?’ The legends and stories could fill a book, she’d heard so many over the years. ‘I can’t exactly remember but—’

‘Look,’ Han said, clearly not in the mood to relive those memories for whatever ridiculous reason. ‘I _used_ to be those things. I don’t do any of that Rebellion stuff anymore. Too much stress.’

‘Oh Force,’ Rey said, realising what this all could mean, ‘is this what made the Kessel Run in less than fourteen parsecs?’ Abruptly she pulled a face. ‘I thought that was supposed to be a ship.’

Han shook his head, visibly narked. ‘It was _twelve_ , and why does everyone keep thinking that these days?’

 ~~The tall, hairy man~~ Chewie re-entered the bus.

Finn and Rey were short enough Han could look to him over them. ‘Is it hidden?’ he asked.

Chewie barked back an answer. ‘For now.’ He then politely pushed past Finn and Rey to get at the front passenger seat, since with his size there was no gentle way for him to possibly get through.

‘We should get going,’ Han said, sliding into the driver’s cubicle. ‘You two can tag along for awhile I suppose,’ he threw a nonchalant hand towards them, ‘but once we—’

‘Wait, no,’ Rey said and she shoved her way forward in to stand next to him, ‘we could use your help. Our cat, they have a secret message and it needs to get to the Resistance.’

Han shook his head, not even giving her the decency of eye contact. ‘Not my problem,’ he said. He began to switch on the bus, turning the key and setting up the lights. ‘I told you I’m not into that anymore.’ Quickly, though, he became aware of the compressor unwelcomingly integrated into the controls. Rey hadn't given it much of a second thought since all of Unkar Plutt's vehicles had had one installed onto them; she'd grown quite used to their presence. Still avoiding her gaze, he leaned forward to ask his partner, pointing to the compressor. ‘Chewie, do you have any idea what this is?’

Chewie grunted and shrugged.

Her persuasion not working, Rey went to say something particularly rude this time, considering she especially didn’t like to be ignored. But then Finn stepped up beside her.

Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder for support, he said, ‘it’s important, Solo, they’re carrying a message that needs to be seen by Luke Skywalker.’

Instantly that got Han to stop. However, he continued to stare down.

‘He’s not dead like everyone else seems to believe,’ Finn said, ‘but I don’t think you believe that either.’

Finally Han sighed and looked at them. ‘I knew I had bad feeling about this,’ he said. ‘Alright, I can get you as far as the nearest Resistance safe house but I ain’t taking you no further.’ He gestured behind with his thumb. ‘Take a seat.’ Returning to the bus controls, Han eased back the clutch and moved them out onto the road again.

When Rey thought about it, it was kind of a miracle they hadn’t been spotted by now. A flash of white and orange, BB-8 returned to join Finn and Rey by their seats.

Han attempted to increase the speed, but a rather disconcerting noise erupted from the engine. ‘So that’s what it is,’ he said. ‘Okay, what moof-milker attached a compressor to the engine?’

‘Unkar Plutt did,’ Rey said, leaning forward in her oversized chair. ‘I didn’t think it was a good idea either puts too much pressure on the exhaust pipes.’

‘And uses up the battery, more like it,’ Han said, rolling his eyes at the entire notion. ‘You guys better straps yourselves in; this could be a bumpy experience.’

A chorus of seatbelt clicks chimed across the bus.

Despite the obvious implication of a compressor, Han continued to build speed and they moved along the rich person’s streets faster than Rey had ever imagined possible.

It took her awhile to realise why he pressed on with agitating the compressor even though it made that terrible noise and didn’t really restrict the bus to that unjustifiable of a low speed. This bus had been specifically built for travelling normally at a high speed. Made sense if its common use was for smuggling and rebellion work.

The disconcerting noise escalated, louder and louder, until it started to rumble through the entire vehicle, almost making it shake and wobble. The fact they were going at a high speed, only led to it growing worse.

Eventually Rey could barely hear Han and Chewie speak over the deafening volume but, from their expressions, it looked like something bad would come from this if they didn’t find a way to make it stop soon. She abruptly noticed the main problem was that Han believed the compressor to have been installed in front of him, freeing an arm whenever he could to search around for it blindly, but in fact it lay at the back, near the engine and, in turn, the bus battery. _Hence why the sound came from there_ , Rey thought.

Unbuckling, she darted towards the rear of the vehicle.

‘Rey, where are you going?!’ Finn shouted down at her, voice barely audible, followed by a sharp meow from BB-8.

No time to answer back, once there, Rey opened up the window to the engine and was _wonderfully_ met by the full force of the noise. A frown on her face, she struggled against the turbulence of the bus to pull away the battery compartment, her small fingers scrabbling desperately to get a good grip along the seam, so she could get at what she wanted inside. The compressor stood out distinctly compared to the old equipment. Thankfully, it only took one firm tug for it to come out

The noise and turbulence immediately stopped.

‘Ah, that seems to have solved the problem,’ Han said as Rey made her way back to her seat, compressor in hand. He turned to Chewie. ‘What happened?’

‘Her,’ Chewie pointed with a grunt.

Han frowned and, as much as he could, spun around in his seat. ‘What did you do?’ he said, looking right at Rey.

‘I bypassed the compressor,’ Rey said and she held up the damned thing, smiling gleefully. She seemed to catch BB-8’s eye and could have sworn they were smiling, as much as it was possible for a cat to smile.

Han’s face stayed the same for a long second. But, in the end, all he said was ‘huh,’ before returning to his driving of the bus.

That was it? Carefully trying to suppress her disappointed huff, Rey flopped back down in her seat again. She glanced at Finn and said, ‘I thought he’d be more impressed than that.’

Finn simply shrugged. ‘I don’t know,’ he said, clueless.

For a long time they drove in silence. Rey sat by the window and watched the city as it rushed past in a dim blur of gold and cream. She saw buildings higher than she ever could have imagined and shop windows clad with the most glamorous of pretty and expensive things. Fur scarves made from animals unheard of and patterned tailored suits stitched together in impossible ways. Sharp cut dress suits, hats of all shapes and sizes with all variety of bows attached to them, and coats where the buttons went all the way from the top to the bottom. All this time she had been living in a city of wonder. She tried to imagine it during the day, alive and thriving.

Until eventually Han leaned over his shoulder towards them and said, ‘we’re almost out the city, so why don’t you two fugitives, and your cat, go hide yourselves up stairs? Be easier for us to pass the border control that way.’

As she unbuckled herself, Rey realised she had no idea what the border control happened to be or why it would be easier to pass through without her and Finn around. Nonetheless, she obeyed.

She’d spent her whole life growing up in Jakku, and the years before that remained an empty void, Rey didn’t even know this part of the city was real until today. She'd had no business being in this part of the city, so never imagined she would. It could have all been revealed as part of some collective conspiracy and she would have simply believed whoever told her this.

With BB-8 perched nearby, Finn and Rey crouched side-by-side on the upper level, peering over out the bottom of the front window together, and watched Han bring the bus to a stop in front of a single white bar attached to a windowed building. This was just part of many bars and buildings that spanned across the street blocking any who wished to pass. Inside the windowed building sat a person, uniform clad in the colours of the First Order. From this angle, all they could see of Han was his hands whilst he passed over pieces of flimsi to the FO person. The FO person then took these documents and disappeared out of sight.

Rey and Finn glanced at each other, clueless.

‘That person has a blaster,’ Finn said, whispering just in case. ‘Did you see it? It was strapped to their thigh.’

Rey nodded and whispered back, ‘I saw. Hey, Finn, what if we don’t get out of this?’ she said.

‘What do you mean?’ Finn said, frowning.

She stared down at her rough hands. ‘I mean what if whatever Han is doing right now doesn’t work and we all get caught.’

He reached out and took one of those hands. ‘Hey, Rey, you shouldn’t think like that,’ Finn said. ‘Don’t worry. I’m sure if that happened we would find some way out of here, no matter what.’

Rey smiled at the thought.

Abruptly the bus jolted forward and Rey reclaimed her hand to gaze out the window again. They passed through this border control place.

And then suddenly it was like all the buildings vanished into thin air. Rey almost gasped, she didn’t think such a thing was possible. She turned to Finn and he appeared to have the same shocked expression on his face too.

They twirled around together to look out the other windows, watching as the city slowly descended into the distance behind them. Surrounding them now was nothing but fields and fields of green, aligned along each rim with bushes and trees. In a daze they made their way back down stairs.

Chewie grunted a greeting and as Finn returned to his original seat, but Rey carried on forward until she stood between Han and his partner at the front.

‘What’s the matter, kid?’ Han said, jokingly. ‘It’s like you seen a ghost or something.’

‘Not a ghost, per say,’ Rey said, her eyes on the world. ‘I never knew there could be this much green in the whole country.’ She put her hand up on the glass to get a better look at the approaching fields.

His smile quickly dropping, Han said, ‘it’s nothing fancy. But they do their job, these fields. That’s the one thing the First Order gets right, I think, it learnt how to feed its people.’ He threw a small glance her way. ‘Well, the ones with enough credits that is. Hey, you got a name?’

‘It’s Rey,’ she said, eyes forward. ‘He’s Finn and the cat’s called BB-8.’

They drove in silence for a couple of minutes, until Han tutted and nudged his head backwards, insisting Rey return to her seat before she knocked herself onto the floor or something from the bus’ commotion.

‘Where are we going, Solo?’ Finn asked as Rey sat down again and strapped herself in.

‘I’m taking you to a Resistance safe house situated just a few miles from the city,’ Han said. ‘I’m aware it’s rather close but it isn’t as bad as you think. Maz Kanata knows how to hide herself well.’

They made it to their destination in seemingly no time at all, arriving out from a long road lined with trees. It turned to the right and opened up into a large, gently slopped yard. A wooden barn lay along the front side of the yard and adjacent to that rested several buildings of different sizes and proportions. The last being the biggest with a strong balcony encased by white fencing and overhanging the ground below. A hill resided on the opposite side of the yard with another building on top of that.

Han drove them into the centre of the yard and then stopped. Switching places with Chewie, he instructed him that, after parking, to check the Millennium Falcon as best he could for anything major before leading Rey, Finn, and BB-8 off board.

As they were guided towards the building on the end, Rey watched the bus reverse almost completely out of the yard again and then disappear up the hill and out of sight. Other than the few noises it made, the entire complex lay in a thick, hazy silence. Even whilst they approached the far building and the morning Sun rose up from behind it, Rey couldn’t make out a single sound.

So it practically scared the life out of her when suddenly a voice erupted from above. ‘Han Solo!’ it said.

Rey couldn’t stop herself from letting out shriek and Finn grabbed her outstretched arm.

They all immediately shuddered to a halt before the shadow of the building and gradually glanced up at the balcony directly above them to the voice’s owner. She was currently leant over the white fencing with a stern expression.

‘Oh no,’ Han said to himself, tensing. He tried to act causal and threw a wave up at her. ‘Hi, Maz.’

She regarded him, the narrowing of her eyes visible despite distance and dimness. ‘You haven't brought strangers to my door in a long time. You must be in need of something desperately, if you are here,’ she said. ‘Well, let’s get on with this then.’

As she disappeared from sight and back into the building, Han turned to Rey and Finn, who happened to be still clutched to one other. ‘Let me to the talking,’ he said, ‘as wonderful as she is, Maz Kanata can be a bit of an acquired taste.’

In front of them a large door to the building clicked and whirled to signify it’s unlocking.

‘Also whatever you do, try to avoiding staring,’ Han added hastily before they were in Maz’s company once more. ‘At any of it,’ he said to their confused faces.

The final click shook through the door and then, like a sleepy animal, it swung open. Extraordinarily, with it came a great buzz of music and chatter and laughter and Rey’s mouth fell open at how anything could have hidden so much noise from the rest of the world. She let go of Finn.

Standing in the thick arch way, her silhouette illuminated by the backdrop glow of inside light, a significantly little woman eyed them suspiciously. ‘Where’s my boyfriend?’ she said, hands on her hips.

‘Chewie is preoccupied with the Falcon, up on the hill,’ Han said, gesturing that way with his head. ‘Don’t worry, Maz, I doubt he’ll be long.’

As she moved closer Rey became aware that Maz’s head barely reached higher than past Han and Finn’s kneecaps. Rey herself was shorter than both men, by at least a head’s worth, but still managed to tower over this mysterious lady along with them. She wore her black hair in a short style spread delicately across the back of her head and her wrists and fingers were encased with several metal bracelets and rings. Her attire consisted of high trousers held by a leather belt, worn boots, and a frail teal shirt and grey waistcoat. She possessed the same strong dark brown skin as Finn and her face had also stood the test of time like Han's, all except her eyes. They were wise, not battered, in fact wiser than her years would allow, magnified and encased behind thick lenses. Maybe that was why Rey noticed it so much. ‘I suppose you better come inside,’ she said, waving for them to follow her. ‘Let’s get to it.’

After a huff and a pout, Maz led them past the threshold and deep into her building. Besides the balcony above, the entire place appeared to be one room filled nearly wall-to-wall with people, at chairs and tables, by the bar in the centre, and loitering around in pretty every space available in between. Whilst they moved across the room, Rey recognised some were playing with cards and board games with faded and broken pieces; others were drinking and eating during the exchange of banter. But when she looked closer, she noticed that all of them were aimed, knives hidden under shirts and trouser legs, blasters strapped to legs or tucked away in satchels and pockets to make them appear only a part of their outfit. She knew what to look for, having hidden weapons on her person numerous times before.

Taking it all in, she found herself asking, ‘how do you keep the sound out? I couldn’t hear a thing outside.’

‘Sound proofing, my dear,’ Maz said, turning her way as they walked. ‘We do not want the First Order hearing our secrets even if we shout them at the top of our lungs.’

She felt BB-8 brush past her leg and they meowed up at Rey almost like they agreed with her wonder.

Maz brought them to a surprisingly vacant table on the far side of the room. ‘Sit, sit,’ she said and she threw out a persistent and short arm at the empty chairs. Clicking her fingers, she caught the attention of a passing man holding a tray, carefully balanced on his bent wrist. ‘Cookie, if you can spare the time, bring some dishes for our new guests.’

The man nodded and then disappeared towards the bar.

They settled down in the various chairs. Rey and Finn both picked up and moved their seats towards each other, quickly registering the other doing exactly the same and stopping.

She’d done it to be near the one person in the room she trusted, but had no clue why Finn had done so as well. Hiding her smile, Rey put her seat down and got comfortable, hoping he did it for the same reason as her.

BB-8 kept to the floor; perhaps Poe had taught them not to jump up on surfaces that often occupied food.

Maz looked to Han. ‘What have you brought me this time?’

Han took a long minute to think of an answer, the right words failing to find his lips like a car that won’t start first time. ‘Show her, kids,’ he said, eventually.

Thankfully Finn chose to take the hit for this question. ‘Please, Ms. Kanata,’ he said. He gestured towards BB-8 rather than picked them up. Probably on the assumption that if he did so, BB-8 would reject his attempts and leap from his arms and cause embarrassment. ‘This cat, they belong to Poe Dameron, I don’t know if you know him...’ He paused a second to let her speak. But after she didn’t, he carried on hurriedly, ‘...well, he has hidden a coded message in their collar and he told me he believes the message should be seen by Luke Skywalker.’

Upon hearing that name, Maz raised an eyebrow. ‘Skywalker, the Jedi Master himself? So you have heard the Resistance rumours of his return?’ she said and then, once Finn nodded, she pointed at Han. ‘Ha! After all this time, you’ve been throw right back into the mess.’

He exhaled, deeply. Leaning towards her, he said, ‘Maz, I need you to help these kids get to Luke.’

‘Hmm… no,’ Maz said but she didn’t look as if she’d really considered her response there at all. Her expression became solemn. ‘Ever since the great defeat half a decade ago, you’ve done nothing but run.’

Their attention was drawn to the man arriving with a large tray of food.

‘Ah, Cookie, excellent. Thank you,’ Maz said while he put several dishes down in the centre, followed by plates and cutlery in front of each of them.

Once Cookie had gone and everyone began to fill their plates, Maz returned her gaze to Han and spoke suddenly in a language Rey had never heard before, adding on the end in Basic, ‘Han, come home.’

Rey didn’t think it possible for the man’s face to appear any more beaten, but he proceeded to surprise her. ‘Maz, Leia doesn’t want me home,’ he said, ‘not after… everything.’

Maz mirrored his sadness. ‘What you have been put through,’ she said, ‘it is a misfortune, but it is not an excuse to distance yourself. Chewie has informed me of how in these past few years you’ve been slipping into and past the First Order’s clutches one too many times. In fact, we all believe it is the sole reason why you lost the Millennium Falcon in the first place. But, bah!’ she slammed her tiny fist on the table. ‘Throw your life away if that is what you think is best.’

‘Maz, you know I don’t,’ Han said firmly, eyes cast down.

‘Then join the fight again. We grow stronger each and every day.’

Rey caught her eye after Maz threw her gaze around the table. ‘ _Who_ grow stronger?’ she asked.

‘The Resistance,’ Maz said. ‘We have been through much since the beginnings of the First Order and long before then we faced other evils of many forms. The Dark Side has fuelled so much through the centuries: eighty years ago The Sith royal family fell from power, then fifty years later The Empire followed, and now we have The First Order. It is true they have beaten us. But we have lost once before and so we can win again.’

Unexpectedly Finn’s voice, defiant and determined, cut straight through the conversation. ‘There is nothing we can win against the First Order.’

Rey looked over to see him leaning forward in his chair. It took her a moment to pinpoint that he was scared.

‘You don’t know them like I do,’ he said. ‘You’ve got no clue if this place has already been infiltrated or not and they’re just lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike. Their power… is unmatched and unbeatable.’ It hit her that Rey had never seen this side of him until now. Admittedly he’d been scared in her home at Jakku the day previous. However, this current fear seemed deeper ingrained and mixed with belligerent emotions such as anger and frustration.

Wearing a firm expression, Maz appeared unshaken by his opinion. She leaned forward in her seat and matched his fear with a might of her own. ‘Their power, my boy, has hold over this country and that is not something we must let continue,’ she said and gave no qualms about being heard by those seated near or passersby. ‘It is something we shouldn’t have let happen to begin with. In the last five years, it’s come to light the dark secrets they have been hiding during their time under the previous government. Century old businesses are closing through the First Order’s generation of mass production from the slave labour of Jedi, and anyone else who gets caught up in the fray. And for the work too-highly-skilled, they created factories where people work non-stop from birth until they die of exhaustion, as if they are not humans but machines whose sole purpose is to make. The countless innocents already left out are then plucked from their beds and locked away in camps just because the First Order believes they are not the right kind of human. And while they perform these atrocities, our fellow citizens don themselves in the fanciest thing they can find to hide the fact we’re all going bankrupt. I think I know the First Order pretty well, thank you very much.’

His mouth open, Finn stared at her blankly for a few seconds and Rey expected to him to apologise then. But instead he said, desperately, ‘so _why_ do you wish to _fight_ them then?’

Maz didn’t hesitate. Clearing a path for herself, she climbed forward onto the table and clambered the short distance towards Finn. A few cups fell and narrowly missed BB-8’s furry head; luckily, they were empty.

‘Uh… Solo, why is she doing that?’ Finn side-eyed him from his current position, choosing to mostly not move at all, unless that was the wrong decision.

‘Not sure,’ Han said, nonchalant and unbothered. ‘Doubt it’s good, though.’

‘If you live as long as I,’ Maz said, once she was presumably close enough. She then began to adjust the lenses on her thick glasses. ‘Soon you start to see the same eyes in different people. Right now, I’m looking at the eyes of someone who wants to get away from it all, someone who wants to run.’

Defiant, Finn leaned forward to meet her half way. There was still some distance between them, however. ‘As I should,’ he said. ‘As we _all_ should. You don’t know a thing about me or what I’ve been through. But there’s one thing I’m certain of, and it’s that we all need to get as far away from the First Order as it is possible to do.’

Maz regarded him for another moment. ‘Hmm,’ she said, before making her way back to her seat. ‘Did you spot the set of the over grown street lamps on your way to this place?’

Finn nodded, but remained cautious.

‘If you wait by them,’ Maz continued, ‘there’s a bus that’s stops and lets on people who say a certain phrase to the driver.’

As it dawned on her what she was hearing, Rey couldn’t believe it. She looked at Finn and, to her dismay, saw how serious he appeared about the matter. Rey’s heart sunk like a small stone, quick to move and hard to find once lost.

‘The next visit should be in ten minutes in fact, if you’re quick,’ Maz said and Finn stood up from his seat, so eager to leave. ‘Tell them _the Autumn leaves fell too early this year_ and they should smuggle you out of the country.’

At the end of Maz’s words, Finn nodded again, thanked her and then left.

Rey reached for him to tap him on the shoulder, get his attention or make him peer her way, to reconsider this. She heard BB-8 meow for him too. But it was all over so fast; Rey struggled to process exactly what had happened.

Okay, so Finn had gone. Or _was_ going. How could he do this so easily? How could he forget about her just like that? After a glance at Han who seemed to be doing nothing about the prevailing circumstances, Rey turned sharply in her chair to see Finn heading straight back towards the door they’d practically just walked through. Another person leaving her life all over again. How long had it been? More than half a day this time, yet still ended precisely the same as with Devi and Strunk, and her family long before then and anyone else she'd already forgotten.

Perhaps she was designed to be alone.

No, destiny and the Force be damned, Rey refused to watch history repeat itself for another time. She leaped up from her seat and pursued Finn across the large hall, slipping and barging her way through the crowd. She didn’t make it before he reached the door since unfortunately some other people were leaving as well. They’d opened it moments after he arrived and Finn walked out behind them.

‘Finn!’ Rey shouted as loud as she could. She caught him half way down the yard outside and didn’t stop until she held a strong grip on his bare arm because she feared if she didn’t, he would carry on walking. ‘Finn, what are you doing? You can’t just go. I won’t let you.’

‘Rey,’ he said with sad eyes that looked at her as if he’d only just remembered she existed. Far different from the boy on the Falcon hours previous, gone was he with all that hope about taking on whatever the First Order threw their way. ‘I'm sorry. But I’m not a hero. You heard what Maz said about people like me. The First Order turned me into something that’s only function is to work. _I'm nothing_. They stopped me being human. Imagine what they would do if they found all this.’ He pointed a soft finger to the safe house behind her. Rey imagined it must have been tough to find out someone else had spent your whole life raising you to become something inhuman but that didn’t mean he could simply leave her this way, not like the rest. ‘We can’t fight them. _Please_ …’ carefully he took the hand on his arm into his own. ‘Come with me,’ he said, a call from the Sun.

‘Don’t go,’ Rey said, stubborn as ever to retreat to the cold.

‘I’m sorry.’ Finn let go of her hand. He turned back and continued down the yard. The faint sunrise shone over his shoulders and the back of his head, making him appear to glow in the early morning hue.

If all he needed was a reason to stay, then she would gladly give him one. ‘What about Poe?’ Rey said, suddenly. ‘You said he was your friend. He’s still trapped there with them, isn’t he?’

Upon hearing this, Finn did stop but didn’t turn around. He stared down at the ground in front of him and said, gently, ‘I… I can’t reach him now. Take care of yourself, Rey.’

Helpless, she watched him disappear down the rest of the yard and towards the road beyond. In the dim light it became hard to make out his figure whilst it continued on left and behind the line of trees. Time ticked passed exponentially and Rey racked her brain for ideas. But they had only been friends for a day, so it seemed an impossible task for her to produce anything of appeal that she could use to make him stay. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried with all her might.

But then a strange noise drifted out through the open door behind that captured her concentration. The noise was faint and yet it echoed about in her mind like a ball stuck in a metal bowl, rolling around and around and around. Someone screaming painfully familiar words, said in a dusty place by a young mouth a long time ago. The noise consumed her thoughts. What was this?

Relaxing, Rey turned to where the sound came from and, somehow forgetting her urgent motives on stopping Finn, followed it back inside. BB-8 appeared at her side when she reappeared in the building and Rey carried on, the strange sound leading her to a set of stairs. Ones she had failed to notice on first arriving here. Preoccupied with the noise, she didn’t even contemplate the potential for trespassing, and merely followed it further down. No one stopped her.

The stairs eventually opened up into a corridor barely lit by a few old lights scattered across the walls. From down here, all the other worldly sounds of laughter and chatter from the bar above became muted and this allowed the strange noise to increase in volume. As she approached the door on the end, it grew louder still. The door was unlocked. Rey gave it a push and let it slide open.

The room beyond looked like nothing more than a storage place for things which needed to be sorted through or organised at a later date, all hidden under sheets or coated with dust. This building being a bar, Rey wasn’t surprised.

However, one chest in particular drew her attention. She approached it cautiously, the screams still buzzing in her head and making her skittish. This chest didn’t seem out of the ordinary. She crouched in front of it, pulled up the hatch and then gradually raised the lid.

It contained nothing of substantial significance, little bits and bobs you’d put in one place so none of it got lost on its own.

However, one item stood out amongst the rest. A long, shiny metal cylinder, decorated with black pieces. Rey had seen such a distinct object before but couldn’t remember neither its name nor where from. Curiosity got the better of her and she reached out to hold it.

Suddenly a loud mechanical gasp slashed across the silent air and the lights darkened. Turning in panic she’d finally been discovered snooping, Rey found herself no longer in the storage room but standing in the middle of a long, regal corridor of cream and gold. Frown on her face, glancing this way and that, she couldn’t find any indication of how she’d gotta here so fast and without her notice.

‘ _All I want is your love_.’

A scream of lost trust and lost love erupted across the space and she saw two figures, one fleeing from the other. A woman in a beautiful fur-edged, embroidered dress ran straight towards Rey. But she only got so far until a blaster shot tore through her side. Rey’s mouth gaped open at the sight of blood soaking this woman’s side and her eyes gradually losing focus.

Rey tried to leave and get to away to somewhere she recognised. Abruptly the world turned upside. The floor slid from under her feet and she fell.

‘ _Its energy surrounds us and binds us_.’

Except the ground felt different from what it was supposed to. Instead of smooth marble, Rey’s palms collided with dirt, soil seeping in between her fingers and under her nails. Rey looked up; the corridor had disappeared and she was met by heavy rain. The droplets smothered her face, making it hard to see and breathe.

In the distance, another two figures stood on a rocky cliff against the backdrop of a thrashing storm. One of them spoke to the other, a soft warning, and then he trust his saber through their heart. Rey gasped and leapt up only to encounter a third man nearby clad in armour. She barely got a chance to flee from him, though, before a saber too pierced through his chest.

It was the man from the cliff, he stood before her now. As he lowered his saber the colour of blood, six others in dark similar outfits gathered by his side. Rey backed away on instinct and he glanced in her direction. No wait, he was looking right at _her_. But he couldn’t; Rey wasn’t here, this wasn’t real. The man began to advance.

‘ _No! Come back! Don’t leave, please! Don’t leave me!_ ’

Unable to stop her body, she turned towards the screech of a child’s plea and suddenly found herself gazing upon her own face from several years ago. No longer in the rain but plunged into a throbbing, dense heat, the other her stood in a dusty yard. She screamed for a car driving ever further and further away. Rey, overcome with shock, spun around to watch the car fade into the surrounding street buildings. She wanted to scream for it too, another chance to make them come back for her, however, it disappeared before she could.

The car became engulfed in a thick blackness that spread around to the rest of the scene. Debris mixed with fire and metal sprouted up in her new surroundings and smoke clouded her vision and lungs.

‘ _Rey_!’

Out of the darkness, she heard a man shout her name as clear as day. Someone who knew her? Perhaps they could release her from this fever dream. She ran towards the voice, barely getting far before a figure jumped out in front of her. The man from the cliff again, brandishing his blood-coloured saber, he had found her. Rey screamed, stumbling backwards, and fell once more.

‘ _These are your first steps_.’

She fell and kept falling for longer than what should have been normal. However, when she landed this time, she was finally back.

Rey peered around hastily, her eyes adjusting to the new setting, and saw Maz heading up the corridor, and Rey noticed now she must have fallen out of the storage room when the vision ended. BB-8 hurried out of nowhere to her side and rubbed their head against her thigh in concern.

Rey leaped to her feet, distraught and partially dazed. ‘What was that thing? And why did it do that to me?’ she said. Maz didn’t answer at first, simply stared at her with wide eyes, and Rey assumed it was out of anger, so quickly began to excuse her actions instead. ‘I’m sorry for snooping; I shouldn’t have gone in there. I…’

Finally Maz found her words. They were not from anger but illation. ‘That metal, it’s a lightsaber,’ she said. ‘It belonged to Luke Skywalker. He received it from his Father before him and now,’ she gestured towards Rey with both her hands. ‘It called to you, I know.’

Rey realised what this meant. She had answered the call of an ancient power. She was Force Sensitive. ‘It’s… I… I need to get home.’ Rey struggled to get the words out, new ideas spinning around her mind. Retreat to the cold, retreat to the safety and familiarity, she told herself. ‘I need to get back to Jakku…’

Maz nodded. ‘Dear child, come here,’ she said with a soft voice only parents must reserve for their children. She held out her hand, signalling for Rey to take it. Rey did so and crouched down to meet Maz’s level. ‘Your eyes tell me that you’ve been searching something for rather a long time, haven’t you?’

Rey nodded and, despite herself, couldn’t stop the tears from flooding her eyes.

‘However, I feel you already know the truth, my dear,’ Maz said. ‘Whoever it is that you’re waiting for back home, they are not coming back, not for you.’

Rey closed her eyes as she finally was faced with the truth, releasing a few tears and they slid down her cheeks.

‘But there’s someone who already has.’

‘Luke…’

‘And now he needs our help, more than ever,’ Maz said. ‘That which you seek, Rey, is not behind but ahead. I never became a Jedi Master, had no time for such things, but that does not stop me from knowing the Force.’ It must have been how she knew to find Rey down here. ‘It connects every living thing. Close your eyes and you can feel it guiding you.’ Coming to a decision, she straightened her shoulders. ‘The saber, take it; it’s yours now.’

Rey regarded her offer and then all that had just happened came crashing back to her memory. Finn had left and she’d failed to stop him. She had been abandoned once more and now she was supposed to accept the only thing she always had hoped for wasn’t coming true. ‘I can’t…’ She stood up, returning to the cold, no, not only that but returning to where she belonged. ‘I don’t want to ever touch that thing again,’ she said before storming off back up the corridor.

She ignored BB-8 and Maz behind her. She kept moving faster and faster, taking the steps two at a time, three at a time, almost tumbling over her own feet at one point. Emerging from the spiral staircase, immediately the bar appeared noticeably emptier and Rey considered for the first instance that perhaps the time she had spent in her vision hadn’t matched up with real time. Nonetheless she dashed across the room, desperate to get outside and get away.

When the next thing she knew, she collided with someone’s stomach. Rey’s nostrils got a whiff of strong but old perfume and the unmistakeable stench of body odour. She staggered backwards to be met by the pink face of a smiling old woman.

Her greying brunette hair up in a circular braid, she smiled down at Rey. ‘Oh careful there, dear,’ she said, gently. She then did a double take on Rey and abruptly raised her eyebrows. ‘Ah, you must be the Rey, Han was just telling me about.’ She held out her hand. ‘I’m General Leia Organa, a leader of the Resistance and Luke’s Sister. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’

Rey observed the hand carefully, wiped her wet eyes and shook it. ‘Um, hi. And you too,’ she said, voice croaky.

Rey became aware that Han and Chewie stood by Leia’s side, along with a miscellaneous group of people in green uniform jackets, including a tall man with unnaturally wide apart eyes and a big ginger beard.

‘Why don’t you show me this message you have, since Luke isn’t here?’ Leia said, placing a warm hand on her shoulder.

‘Okay,’ Rey nodded. Somehow Leia invoked a reaction inside of her that made everything feel like it was going to be okay despite the mishaps of the current world. Despite the reality that Finn had gone and the truth about her childhood abandonment had come to fruition, Leia made Rey feel like she would be alright because she could still move forward somewhere. The world couldn’t leave her behind just yet. This was something she’d never felt before, so perhaps that was why she couldn’t control it nor make it stop, like she usually could. She took her to where BB-8 now had happened to be trying to curl up on a chair in the corner, slipped the message from their collar, and handed it over to Leia.

General Organa then looked the message over for a couple of minutes. Rey expected her to be confused by the funny symbols or admit she had no idea how to translate this code.

But eventually she smiled and said, ‘I know exactly what this.’ She turned to one of her uniform jackets and handed him the piece of flimsi. ‘Snap, set up a holo-projector in the room and run this through the system code.’

The man nodded and then got to work.

Next, Leia turned to the man with the ginger beard. ‘Ackbar, send out an emergency meeting signal for all cells to come to this bar, the information Poe and Jess have collected is big.’

Admiral Ackbar chuckled, amused. ‘Your trick to bring me out of retirement is definitely proving to be a good one, General.’ He disappeared from the room and took a few of the uniform jackets with him.

Finally Leia turned back to Rey. She declared that clearly everyone was going to take awhile so offered to perhaps catch Rey up on the history she’d been missing out on these past few years.

Rey nodded meekly and accepted the offer.

Leia took her to the corner of the bar and got Rey a drink and plate of jerked Bantha meat with a side of Hubba bread. Leia sat with her and started to tell the history of their country’s heads of power. She told her about how after the fall of The Sith royal family, a generation before her own, this country grew tired of its royalty constantly bringing war to its doorstep and that was when a conspiracy to overthrow them arose, sprouted long before anyone could have predicted such a thing.

Rey wondered how she had learned of something this old. The First Order had almost all historical holo-records burned in bonfires on the streets. To them, the past didn’t matter, it was the future we needed to remember.

‘I’m descended from royalty, you see,’ she clarified, proudly. ‘My Brother and I are the last of the Amidala dynasty. We took our Father’s name for safety.’

‘Why are you the last?’ Rey said, stuffing a clump of Hubba bread in her mouth.

Leia looked away and sadness shadowed in her eyes. ‘My Father… became involved with a bad crowd. One of his advisors turned out to be from the Dark Side and he seduced my Father to the dark arts. It was an action that brought about the end of the royal family in this country and started us down the totalitarian dictatorship of the Empire. My Father fed on that dark power and it changed him into something unrecognisable. He even forgot his own children. No one could bring him back, not his trusted friend Obi Wan or our Mother,’ she said. ‘When he killed her… that was when I truly lost faith in him.’ Regardless of her words, a small smile appeared on her lips. ‘But Luke, no, Luke never gave up. Despite everything, he believed in our Father until the end and thankfully that time it payed off. My Father saved him just before Darth Sidious had Luke put in the electric chair. Together they defeated the tyrannical leader and so ended The Empire. But this faith he has in people, it almost got him killed. Luke was stabbed by one of his… students,’ Leia explained to Rey’s inquisitive expression, ‘and that is why everyone has believed him to be dead for so long. Unfortunately, Luke took the first Resistance with him and so, back then, we could no longer stop the First Order from establishing their full hold on our country.’

‘But Luke survived?’

Leia nodded. ‘Yes, however, his whereabouts need to be kept a desperate secret. The First Order already knows he’s still alive, but if they found out where he is hiding, they’ll send out bounties with a kill order.’

Suddenly a woman in the green uniform jacket approached them. ‘General, we’re ready for you,’ she said.

Leia addressed her with a smile. ‘Okay, thank you, Teckla. Give us just a moment,’ she said. Turning back to Rey, Leia waited until she finished her food and then they joined the others.

‘The information Dameron and Pava have found is amazing. It seems they’ve practically mapped out the entire factory. It’s exactly what we need right now,’ the man named Snap said to everyone gathered around the large holo-projector. The extra people Leia had spoken of would not be here for several hours, but she insisted everyone currently here overview the fresh info received from BB-8, before they did, in preparation of their arrival.

‘I just want to know how they fitted this much on such a small piece of flimsi,’ Han said, squinting at said piece of flimsi in his hand. He stood next to Rey.

‘Well, their code correlates with the one within our holo-projection system and so if I simply match up what Poe and Jess wrote down with the code inside—’ Snap began.

Han waved a hand at him. ‘I don’t actually care, Snap. What does this all mean anyway?’

The guy didn’t seem to take the interjection to heart. ‘Well, it means we finally have an overview of that factory we’ve always wanted,’ Snap said. ‘Pava certainly made a nice call recruiting Poe Dameron again. It’s a shame we can’t reach out to them, now we know where they are. But I agree with the General’s instruction that we need to keep communication scarce at this time as so to avoid unknowingly giving away anyone’s locations.’ He pushed some buttons on the panel before him and a man’s black and white picture appeared next to the animated outline of the factory. He wore a stern expression and a sharp face; instantly Rey didn’t like him. ‘For those who don’t know, this factory is presided over by General Brendol Hux Junior.’

Han gently elbowed Rey’s side before leaning down to quietly tell her, ‘don’t let the Junior part deceive you; he’s more of a nasty piece of work than his Father.’

They all listened to Snap explained the details of the map in relation to information that had already been recovered. Filling in the gaps as he put it.

Eventually, Han sighed heavily and moved his attention directly to Leia across the table. ‘Leia, why do you have all this stuff?’ he said. ‘Knowing your way about this factory ain’t exactly going to topple an empire.’

‘I don’t want to topple an empire, Han. Not yet at least.’ From her smile, Rey believed she could easily do such a thing if she put her mind to it. ‘Just one man will do for now,’ she said. Leia then straightened her shoulders and puffed out her chest for the oncoming onslaught of her next sentence. ‘I plan to send in a small team to assassinate General Hux.’

¬

Finn could almost hear his own heartbeat whilst he made his way back up the long, dark road. So strong it felt almost artificial, the silence in air acted conflictingly and, rather than soothing them, it magnified his inner voices and thoughts.

He finally reached the street lamps Maz described. Beside him and behind the wall of trees the Sun rose slowly in the sky, low enough, however, that in the shade it still appeared like night. Basking in the new glow, Finn concluded he had spent the whole day thinking.

Thinking about where he was and what he should be doing here. Thinking about Rey and BB-8 and how they interacted so flawlessly, when Finn could barely get the animal to give him a proper time or day. Thinking about _Poe_.

The whole day had became just one incident after another, and Finn followed along eagerly because, not once, did it feel like the wrong thing to be doing.

Except now. Finn shouldn’t be here that much was true.

He should be a worker living in the First Order factory. He’d been raised from birth to be this and so that was where he belonged. He was supposed to return to that life now, but he couldn’t anymore. He knew the First Order and if he returned now, they would kill him for his desertion. He'd finally realised his fear for the first time ever and Finn needed to run away, away from his old work, his old normal life, and… and Poe.

Poe. How could he forget Poe? He’d spent almost the entirety of yesterday pondering over what exactly Poe would be doing now that he and BB-8 had gone, how he would even find out they’d disappeared, what he would be feeling over this current situation. Rey’s cramped home had felt like a million miles away from Poe’s dusty, little flat back on the factory campus.

Would Finn ever see him again? Or in his absence, and only because of his absence, would they take him and punish him on Finn’s behalf? He shuddered when imagining it, squeezing his eyes shut on this dark road and letting out a sharp exhale.

Had it been ten minutes yet? He wanted to run away from all this chaos and confusion.

Who was he? Was he FN-2187 or Finn? Who was _Finn_ and how did he fit in with this complicated world? The further he ventured, the more questions he raised. And not a single one of them had an answer.

The ding of the oncoming vehicle almost made him jump out of his skin. Upon opening his eyes and watching a rusty bus decelerate towards him, it brought up the image in his mind of Rey doing exactly the same when Maz Kanata had called Han Solo’s name.

Rey. She had asked him to stay, but he had gone nonetheless. In fact, Finn was beginning to develop the habit of doing the exact thing he’d been told not to do by the important people in his life.

The bus came to a hefty stop in front of him. Its door gave a metallic squeak as it opened. Finn looked up at the driver and walked on board.

He went to move further down the aisle but a firm hand came down in front of him.

Finn glanced at the owner in confusion and then quickly remembered he’d forgotten to utter the special message. Racking his brain for what Maz told him, ‘um, sorry,’ he said. He managed to remember and added, ‘ _the Autumn leaves fell too early this year_.’

The driver tutted impatiently and then let him pass.

Trying to not let it get to him, Finn turned back to the bus aisle and the sight of the other passengers seemed to hit him full force in the face. Somehow, he suddenly felt over come with a heavy sadness.

There weren’t many of them, certainly more than Finn thought there would be – in fact that only managed to make the effect that their presence had on him worse because increased people meant increased suffering. Four were spread out on the left side and five or six on the right.

Gradually he became aware that none of them had used a refresher in days, possibly longer. They all _reeked_. Their stench travelled slowly, but once it reached Finn’s nostrils, it took quick hold and filled them up with a smell he didn’t know if he could hate any deeper.

Also, upon closer inspection, their clothes were tatter and clammier than anything he’d seen in Rey’s home and beyond that. They made him, in his scruffy, smelly vest and misshapen shoes appear almost smart and well-cut. His grey jumpsuit, back at the factory, had been all the clothing he’d ever owned, but at least it was washed and pressed once a week, if not more.

The First Order had done this. These people needed help, they needed food and water, they needed proper sanitation, suitable homes. Running away would not solve these problems, Finn became aware of that now. Choosing to run away himself would not contribute to solving their problems either. They needed him to fight, they didn’t need him to run.

This world outside the factory campus was such a tough, bitter pill to swallow, and Finn had had his fair share of bitter pills. But, in the end, it was Rey’s world and he understood that by leaving on this bus, by running away, he might as well be condemning it to fail.

Him and Rey. They’d only been friends for a day. There remained so much more potential for their relationship to grow and flourish.

What was he doing? He’d left without even thinking of her and what she meant to him now. What he could mean to her.

‘Buddy, you’re holding up the bus,’ the driver said, angrily, snapping Finn’s attention back the present. ‘Are you gonna sit or not?’

 _Buddy_. The silly word Poe used to call him and now another reason to stay.

‘No, sorry,’ he said, stepping back. ‘I can’t do this, I have to go back.’ With that he ran off the bus and back down the dusty road before anything else could prevent him. Dirt and gravel got kicked up by his heels and thrown behind him. He heard the bus accelerate up again and in a couple of seconds, it drove past by him.

He only stopped running when it disappeared out of sight around a corner at the end. Out of breath, he couldn’t stop moving forward, however, because he needed to get back. It got to the point where he had to pinpoint all his focus onto this one task, just to put one foot in front of the other. He needed to get back.

Slowly but surely, Maz’s bar came into view and when he was finally walking back up along its yard, relief washed over him. This was where he was supposed to be. Before he’d confused his location dysphoria for a sign he should return to the First Order and then took that to mean he needed to run away instead. But now he could see it was his body’s way of telling him not to go.

Like a startled child in the dark, he kept his eyes forward in fear he would see something behind him that wasn’t really there. Captain Phasma, or General Hux, or maybe even Leader and Chancellor Snoke, himself, arriving here especially to smite Finn on his path away from the First Order. Only when he reached the front door, did he allow himself to finally stop. He stood there, panting, shouldering heaving up and down. Sweat coated his face and back in a thin layer.

Here and now, he decided he needed to face his fears and find the strength to move forward, not hide in the shadows and wait for the dark times to pass of their own accord. Seeing what the First Order had done to their people hadn't encouraged him to run away faster, it had made him come back. Bravery, he realised, could be there to hold him up, not push him down.

The large door did its job, for Finn couldn’t hear a single noise from within the bar. He wondered that if he knocked, would they hear him inside?

Just as he was about to try, the door clicked unlocked and opened slowly. Perhaps they would have, because this time the door only brought with it more sounds of silence and distance voices. The music and laughter had stopped.

Maz Kanata stood in the archway, hands on her small hips. She must have seen him from the balcony again and opened the door. ‘You have returned, I see,’ she said in a stern tone.

Finn began to explain himself. ‘Yes, Ms. Kanata, I—’

‘Your eyes...’ she said and her expression instantly softened. ‘They’re different from before. Now, I can see I’m looking at the eyes of a warrior.’ She dropped the hands from her hips and stood aside. ‘One that may also come back inside,’ she said.

Finn simply nodded. ‘Thank you,’ he said and walked past her.

The bar now contained significantly less people than from before. The lights had also been dimmed and most of the tables and chairs pushed to the sides. Before advancing, however, Finn helped Maz with closing the door and then turned back to what now lay in the centre of the room.

Once finished, Maz disappeared to the side of the room and he saw she went to go sit in Chewie’s lap.

‘No, you’re wrong,’ a male voice was saying and Finn creeped forward until he could see its owner through the group gathered around a large table. It was from a round man with a dark beard wearing orange jump suit. ‘Stormtroopers are not called the Secret Police because their work is _secret_ but because, technically, they don’t exist.’ From the table in the centre rose a large holo-projection filled with photos of people clad in white armour and wearing helmets that looked like smiling creatures. ‘Well, at least not on paper. In terms of its relationship with the rest of the world, it is illegal for this country to have police that do the things Stormtroopers do. They’re not secret from us, they’re secret from everyone else.’

‘That’s what Captain Phasma wanted me to be,’ Finn found himself saying and it drew the attention of everyone else in the room, all eyes and ears tuning in on him.

He spotted Han on the opposite of the table, who after the initial shock frowned and said, ‘uh, Captain who, kid?’ to thankfully break the sudden silence.

‘Phasma,’ said the man speaking earlier. His head darted down to the datapad in his hands, and he started typing, probably searching for what information they would have on record. ‘She’s uh, um—’ he said, while stalling.

Deciding to save him the time, Finn said in clarification, ‘she’s head of the department that oversees the workers in the factory.’ He walked closer to the group as he spoke and they parted, making room for him. ‘Basically she’s in charge of where they go and what they do. She’s just as bad as Hux and Kylo so I think you should put her up there.’ He pointed to the list on the holo-projection that read _Important First Order Members_.

Abruptly he caught sight of Rey by Han’s side and her face had exploded with shock. Hastily, she slipped through the group and barged forward until she stood before him, BB-8 trailing behind her and providing a caution meow. ‘You came back..?’ she said and he knew it was a question, could see Rey holding down her hope and hated the fact she would be doing this solely because of him.

‘Yeah…’ Finn said, trying a small smile. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you.’

Unexpectedly, Rey leapt onto him. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, feet off the ground, she hugged him with all her might and Finn hugged back with all of his. ‘Thank you, Finn,’ she said against his ear and he grinned into her bare arm. Making her happy shouldn’t have made him so happy in turn, but somehow it did and he liked that.

Even though he hadn’t yet made up for what he’d done, he was forgiven.

Eventually, a woman with braided hair approached them. ‘You’re Finn, correct?’ she said, whilst Rey and he gradually let go of each other, but remained close together nonetheless.

Finn cleared his throat. ‘Yeah, that’s me,’ he said. ‘I was a worker in the factory, but Captain Phasma wanted me to be a Stormtrooper. I was gonna leave, but I decided to come back and help, if that’s okay?’

‘It certainly is,’ the woman said and she meant it. She stood shorter than him but held a demeanour that of a person in charge of an army and her frame looked like it had shouldered a few worlds already in her lifetime. ‘It’s very brave what you’ve done, defecting from the First Order. Why don’t come over here and tell us what you know?’ She led Finn and Rey to her place around the table and holo-projection.

Finn could feel everyone staring at him, even before he began to glance across at their faces. ‘I’m, uh, not sure where to start,’ he said, fighting the nerves this attention brought him.

‘Why don’t you start with how life was for you working in the factory?’ the woman said, her voice managing to calm his storms.

Finally Finn glanced at Rey and she smiled as some encouragement.

So he took a deep breath and then started to explain his life within the First Order factory campus. Taken from a family he would never know, as long as he could remember he’d lived within those durasteel walls. He got his education in there, until they moved the schooling to an outside area and then the generations under him began to come in from other parts of the country. Finn spoke of his work, how it used to tire and bore him all in one, his promotions that came from a confusing reason and were just as confusing in practice. He told these people about his friend Slip, who he could see often struggled with the tasks they were set. He wanted to help him and they developed a small series of codes to communicate without speaking. Of course, when he moved up he then never saw Slip again.

He told them how he met Poe. However, he kept it short and, after explaining how Poe cared for the burn on his arm – even, with this woman’s encouragement, showing them the scar – he cut quickly to the part at the end when he discovered that Poe and Jessika Pava worked for the Resistance. Because what happened between him and Poe only needed to be known by him and Poe, Finn aimed to keep it that way. No one seemed to argue about this.

In the end, Finn discovered the woman who had instructed him to elaborate on his life turned out to be Luke Skywalker’s Sister. Since he’d never heard of Luke or the Resistance, or any of it, until Poe mentioned them, it failed to stand as anything significant that she happened to be related to him. But regardless, she came across as someone worthy of respect, so that was what Finn gave her. The woman’s name was General Leia Organa and Finn recognised half of that name from something Han had said early to Maz.

Leia appeared to take Finn arriving at when he learnt about the Resistance as the end of his story. He didn’t prevent her from stopping him and moving her Resistance members forward. Since the more he spoke of it, the more Finn realised he didn’t like to remember his past life. Bringing up memories of them just made him miss Poe and Slip all the more greatly.

Sometime later, after she had dismissed her people and they dispersed about the room, Finn left Rey for a moment and went to Leia’s side, asking her, ‘General Organa, what was the point of all that?’

‘What, getting you to describe your life under the First Order?’ she said. When Finn nodded, she then said something that made him feel a little better about his current state in this world. ‘I wanted them to learn a bit more about what they’re fighting for.’

Apparently Leia and her people were waiting for several other groups to arrive here. This meant Finn and Rey would be stuck here for a day or two until any plan of action, in terms of a relocation for them, could be put into place.

Relocating, of course. Something Finn hadn’t even considered, but it seemed like the best option now that he thought about it. That appeared to finally make this real, a sudden harsh push into this new reality where things were no longer the way they used to be. But no relocation just yet; Finn couldn’t leave Poe behind when there was still a chance. He only needed a good moment to explain this to General Organa.

Han offered them the Falcon to hang around in for the day, while the others arrived, and Finn took him up gladly. Happy for a chance to be alone with just Rey and BB-8, even if it was about to be short lived, he found it much easier to be amongst people comprised of smaller quantities than large groups all at once. Rey disappeared to collapse somewhere up the stairs for she apparently hadn't a wink of sleep in over two days, so Finn settled in the main passenger seat and attempted to bond with BB-8 for a few hours. They'd managed to find a small rag to play with and Finn fiddled with it from time to time, testing the waters on what BB-8 seemed to want from him.

Remerging during a visit from Han, Rey then ended up mentioning Finn hadn’t eaten since the previous evening and Han insisted they get comfortable while he brought them something.

Together this time, Rey and Finn settled on the first floor of the Millennium Falcon, right by the rear window to give them a partial overlook of the yard; also all the other windows were facing either darkness or a wall since the garage lights weren’t on. It allowed them to spot Han coming up with their food. Surprisingly, an odd-looking blue and white dog came bounding along at a gentle pace by his side.

They ran down to the Falcon’s door to meet him half way, and to save him the trouble of trying to get the broken door open with his hands full. They found him waiting anyway; he must have had a similar thought process.

‘Solo, who’s the dog?’ Finn said upon taking his bowl of soup and plate of bread.

Preoccupied with making sure no one dropped anything, Rey seemed to jump into motion and looked down like she’d only just noticed the animal at Han’s feet. ‘Oh yeah, where did they come from? I don’t remember a dog in the bar,’ she said before taking an preempt sip of her soup.

‘Ah, well, yes,’ Han said, voice light, clearly from fatigue. His worn eyes appeared sleepy and unfocused as well. ‘Some of Leia’s liaison just arrived a minute ago, so they’re all busy…’ he drifted his gaze back towards the bar and then brought it back to them sharply, after the shake of his head. ‘Anyways, this mischievous old fella,’ he said and patted the dog’s head with a gentle tap, ‘is R2-D2.’

Rey made a funny noise. ‘Again with the numbers?’

Han simply shrugged. ‘Don’t ask me,’ he said. Immediately, he took note of Finn bending down to give R2-D2 some attention, and interjected, ‘um, he’s been a bit docile recently, ever since Luke went into hiding, so I wouldn’t bother petting him.’

Finn reached out a hand anyway and ran it over the space between the dog’s ears. ‘Hello,’ he said, playfully.

R2-D2 possessed a coat of white fur with strange patches so dark and shiny from a certain angle they appeared blue. His age showed in his almost visible ribs, thin hips, and greying snout. It showed in his fur too, slightly smelly, matted and clumped in places. He needed a good wash and a shave. As Han had warned the dog gave a very docile response, merely moving his gaze briefly to Finn’s before returning it down to the ground again.

‘He’s not the same dog he was when I last saw him five years ago,’ Han said.

Finn hummed in slight disappointment, because he hadn’t expected the animal to be as impassive as that, and straightened back up.

‘He did say don’t bother, Finn,’ Rey said in gentle consolation.

‘I know, it’s worth a try, though.’ He turned to smile at her.

Surprised by the sudden gesture, she happily smiled back.

They went to leave but Han stopped them with a wave and then spoke some more, ‘actually, Leia wants you to meet them all,’ he said, ‘and help out with this unpacking or whatever, said it would be good experience, something like that... Finish those up quick, okay?’ He indicated to the bowls in their hands. ‘You don’t want to keep her waiting.’

‘Of course, Solo,’ Finn said.

‘Got ya,’ Rey said.

Han nodded but stayed put for a second, almost like he was unsure about something yet didn’t want to say anything, in case it was the wrong thing to do.

Eventually, Finn asked, ‘are you okay, Solo?’

He looked at them abruptly. ‘Me? I’m fine, yeah,’ he said. ‘It’s just… this was a lot easier in my younger days that’s for sure. I think I might have been away too long.’ He brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck and shook his head, dismissing that thought pattern before it grew traction. ‘Come on, R2,’ he said and finally left them by the Falcon’s front door.

Rey and Finn shared a look, equally clueless and sympathetic. BB-8 disappeared down the bus, presumably to find something else to play with because the next time they saw them, they had a piece of stringy fabric clasped in their tiny mouth. Rey and Finn chose to finish their dishes by the door. Next to the engine rested a windowsill seat and they sat on that, backs to the glass.

Rey told Finn that when she first saw this bus drive into Niima outpost, she never imagined that one day she would be able to drive it, let alone sit here eating by its rear viewing point.

Finn puffed the air slowly out of his lungs and said, ‘destiny has a funny way of surprising us, I guess.’

‘Not you, though?’ Rey said. She tore off a piece of bread and used it to wipe her bowl clean, popping the soggy result in her mouth.

Finn threw her a confused expression. ‘What do you mean?’ he said.

‘You took charge of your destiny.’

‘By accident, Rey—’ he said, instantly thinking of the panic that had rushed through his veins when he realised he was stuck on the wrong side of the factory chain link.

But Rey shook her head. ‘No, I don’t mean when you left the First Order,’ she said. ‘I mean when you chose not to be a part of their system anymore. You stopped running, stopping letting them shape your choices.’ She glanced backwards out the window, coming to the end of her bread. ‘And you came back.’

They found General Leia in the centre of the bar. Unlike earlier that morning, all the bar’s original tables and chairs had been cleared flat against the walls this time. In their place, various people, some new and some familiar, were beginning the long set up of other holo-screens and desks. Leia stood in middle of them, directing and organising, and next to her, a man with blond hair and pink skin sat in his elaborate wheel chair. One of his arms appeared very darkish in tone and it took Finn a moment to realise it happened to be a red prosthetic.

Next, he searched for Han or Chewie but failed to find either of them.

When she spotted them, General Leia called Finn and Rey over, immediately introducing the man in the wheel chair.

‘I am C-3PO. It is a pleasure to meet you,’ he said in turn, shaking their hands with strong, lively enthusiasm.

Finn automatically glanced at Rey for her reaction to now hearing a human that had numbers in his name but her gaze was focused elsewhere on the people working around the room.

Leia explained this man worked alongside her within the Resistance and acted as one of her representatives, if she couldn’t immediately make it to the places where she was needed.

Abruptly BB-8 ran up and leapt into this man’s lap. Embarrassed, Rey went to stop them and pick them up until C-3PO reacted with joy rather than discomfort. ‘Ah, BB-8! My little friend! I haven’t seen you in a long time.’ He petted BB-8 graciously with his flesh hand and lightly cradled them with the other. ‘You probably don’t recognise me much because of my red arm. Good to see Poe’s been keeping you well fed.’

‘Wait, you know Poe Dameron?’ Finn said.

‘Commander Poe, yes,’ C-3PO said while BB-8 lapped up as much attention as they could still get a hold of. ‘He’s known by lots here and has worked personally with Princess— I mean General Leia on several occasions. I’ve worked with him few times myself, both before and during the First Order’s rise to power.’

‘Wha—?’ Finn couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘Poe’s a commander? I didn’t know he was someone so high up in the Resistance. Commander of what? Of who?’

‘Oh, Commander Dameron is a pilot and had his own squad at one point,’ C-3PO said hastily. ‘Or so he used to until the First Order confiscated his pilot’s licence and beloved ship.’ He looked down then at BB-8 and his voice became slow and saddened. ‘It's probably scrap metal now. Poe drifted into a rather dark place after being grounded like that and once he relocated to the city none of us ever saw him again.’

‘Didn’t Poe tell you about this, Finn?’ Leia said.

‘No, no… he told me nothing of the sort,’ Finn said, tone firm. He had known Poe now for almost a year and in that time he’d spoken often of his childhood. He mentioned his Mother was brave pilot but never that he was one himself. Why would he not tell Finn this important aspect of his life? Unless he didn’t trust him enough or thought Finn wouldn’t be interested enough to care, he didn’t know. Either way, Finn certainly didn’t like the exclusion. ‘Why wouldn’t he?’ he said.

‘Maybe he thought it would be too much,’ Rey said, drawing all Finn’s attention. ‘You’re a smart guy, Finn, maybe Poe thought you’d figure out who he was earlier. Maybe he wanted to protect you from the dangers of knowing that or to stop you trying to get involved.’

Rey’s suggestion held some logic and sounded a lot like what Poe had said the night he confessed he was a part of the Resistance. It had all been for something along the lines of protection. ‘Maybe,’ Finn said, relaxing slightly.

‘He certainly did not get his title from us,’ C-3PO said. ‘The Commander earned his rank long before we had a chance to hear of him. But rank’s not so important here. What we’re interested in is good spirit. In fact, that’s what first attracted the General, here, into recruiting him.’

‘What did?’ Rey said.

‘Poe’s spirit and good heart,’ C-3PO said. ‘Do you know he disobeyed direct orders not to enter private air space and ended up spotting a First Order operation to sabotage a Jedi school? In fact, he reported this to his superiors but no one believed him. That was, until General Leia stepped up and she had to vouch for him so strongly before anyone would listen. This was back in the early days, you see, before the First Order gained full political power, therefore, sadly most of the government at the time didn’t believe they were such a threat, as we did.’

‘That’s… actually pretty cool,’ Rey said. She turned to Finn. ‘I’m kinda looking forward to meeting this man now, Finn.’

 _That’s if I ever see him again_ , Finn thought. He had no idea what could be happening to Poe right now, but a small part of him said that it wasn’t something good. He didn’t know whether to listen or not, of course. Either way, thoughts of Poe were always companioned with this underlying feeling of unsettlement that he just couldn’t shake no matter what.

Several new groups of Resistance members arrived over a period of the next few hours. Throughout the day, they came in all variety of outfits and costumes, which seemed silly when first viewed but made sense after C-3PO explained their uses. That it would be easier to slip past the First Order’s observations if they pretended to be someone they were not.

These arrivals lasted late into the evening. By then, Finn ended up on dish duty, which involved walking around the bar, and its aligning buildings, making sure everyone got a good plate of dinner. But also meant he didn’t get his own until people were beginning to nod off in the various beds darting about the place. Finn didn’t mind so much, however, food seemed to taste better when he knew everyone around had already been fed.

Rey found him in the corner, trying to down his meat and veg as quietly as possible. Wherein she promptly dragged Finn back to the Falcon to show him the beds Han and Chewie had set up for them. One appeared to be a flattened chair with lots of cushions and blankets piled on top and another was a hammock. A huge, squishy pile of pillows had been assembled in the corner for BB-8 - that they were already snoozing on. Thankfully, Rey chose the hammock, since very unfamiliar with such a bed, Finn feared he might have fallen out of it during the night.

He fell asleep with many worries regarding Poe that seemed to circle around up above him, like those birds of prey he would read about on his datapad.

Finn awoke with patchy memories of his dream. His always felt so real at the time and he only ever recognised them for what they were, after he woke up.

Rey and Han were already up and he found them by the Falcon’s front seats. Finn approached them with a gentle good morning.

‘You okay, kid?’ Han said, propped up on the arm rests of the driver’s chair. ‘Rey said you seemed to be tossing and turning when she got up.’

‘I’m really not sure,’ Finn said.

‘How so?’ Rey said. She looked up from graciously polishing her staff, a sleepy BB-8 lay curled up on her lap.

‘I think I had a bad dream but I can’t really remember. I think it might have been about Poe and now I have a horrible feeling something’s happened to him.’

Han and Rey shared a quizzical look and Finn expected one of them to ask him if he’d had this sort of dream before.

But Han soon gave dismissive toss of his hand. ‘Mah! Dreams are funny like that,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t think on it for long, boy.’

The rest of that day went by rather quickly. General Leia had almost everyone she could gathered in the bar, discussing various tactics and methods of assault which would get them into the factory for tonight.

Finn picked dish duty again and spent the time darting around trying to fill any cups and plates that he could. Surprisingly the Resistance members were very grateful for this, responding each refill with a ‘thank you’ or ‘cheers’ no matter how many times he returned. The job became halved when Chewie and Maz joined in during the afternoon. Less than an hour later and they were insisting Finn took a break and left the rest of the job to them. He wanted to decline because he liked this way of helping people, but realised he would need his strength if he got General Organa to accept the plan he would propose about Poe.

By the end, she had devised a four person group to infiltrate the factory, find General Brendol Hux Junior’s chamber, and assassinate him without notice. A brutal mission, yes, but it was the lengths she felt she needed to reach to bring about another drastic change in this country. Finn wondered what would make tonight so special and someone voiced that question before he got the chance.

General Organa explained that nothing made this night special but that was what they wanted to use to their advantage; hopefully it would mean the First Order wouldn’t see any of this coming. Because what really made this mission special would be their new found knowledge of the factory’s blue prints. When she came to the end of her briefing and hadn’t mentioned anything about Poe, Finn knew he needed to say something.

‘What about Poe?’ he interjected politely as he could. Once again, it drew all the eyes in the room. ‘We can’t leave him behind,’ he said, firmly.

‘You have my help, Finn,’ Rey said immediately after, and he appreciated her support. She put a hand on his shoulder and he smiled down at her.

‘I’ve got your back too, kid,’ Han said from across the table, flittering his gaze back and forth between Finn and Leia.

It earned a tired smile from the General and Leia sighed. ‘It’s not that I don’t want him back here, well and safe,’ she said to the table. ‘But rescuing Poe could be a suicide mission. I can’t ask that of you, Finn.’

‘You don’t have to.’ And she really didn’t.

It took time to integrate this rescue mission alongside the previous one, but when they reached launch time, everyone was still in their rightful positions.

The plan was for both parties to follow each other until they reached the factory. Next, they would take separate paths; while the original party would disappear into the campus and find General Hux, Finn’s party would pinpoint the location of Poe Dameron, either in the bar or in his flat. Then, in ensuing chaos caused by the General’s death, they would physically find Poe and get him out of there.

Finn sat, shuffling nervously in his seat, with Rey, Han, and Chewie on the Millennium Falcon. BB-8 had to be left behind because no one could trust their curious nature. When Han first proposed them using it, Leia had rejected the idea because the bus’ size would make it stand out far too much. But he soon reminded her, what it lacked in subtlety, it happened to make up for in speed. The Falcon was the fastest vehicle the Resistance currently owned and it was also much faster than most First Order vehicles.

Finn had faith in this mission. However, what wore at him, and had done so tenaciously since he’d started thinking about him, was that perhaps the state they would find Poe in would not be a very good one.

After the few hours drive along those green roads, the city looked no different as the Falcon and accompanying Resistance vehicle drove speedily along its streets. A sign nothing had really missed his presence since he’d been gone. Once inside, they reached the factory campus in no time at all. Making sure not to get too close in case they were seen, they spotted the campus through the passing adjacent streets and travelled to the set drop off point.

‘I really need to get this door fixed,’ Han said. Being the last to exit the bus, he shimmed the door across, where it proceeded to get stuck and, after sighing in frustration, Han had to jam it shut the last few inches. ‘You know, it used to shut itself… once,’ he said to Finn and Rey. He called over the other group to make sure their comms worked and matched up.

Finn only recognised one of them. The man named Snap Wexley _,_ who’d been talking about Stormtroopers when Finn came back.

With everything set, Han and Chewie led the way to the factory. Both groups entered via a back deliver entrance where camera surveillance was at a minimum, meaning less watchful eyes to slip past. Finn recognised the place as Level Four and instinctively directed them down an alternate path he knew wouldn’t have as many officials operating on it. At this time, the workers wouldn’t have been acquired to go to bed yet, if Finn remembered correctly right now was the recreational time before credit collection. Plus the workers were needed awake for the ensuing chaos after General Hux’s assassination.

The recreational time meant that Poe was most likely playing in the bar, which happened to be exactly where they were headed once they reached the first check point. Han quietly wished the other group luck, then they all turned and headed in opposite directions.

Once walking down the main factory corridors again, Finn felt very weird to be back. His mind recognised his surroundings, metal walls and dark coloured carpets, and welled up at the foreign experience of being in these corridors in different clothes and with new friends. He hated this feeling and all but rushed to Jessika’s bar.

However, when they got there, the place was dead. Lights off, not a single person in sight. Why would it be dead? Why was Poe not here?

‘It’s okay, it’s okay. We can just check his flat,’ Finn said, reassuring himself more than the others. Trying not to let the panic take over, he took them along the path he’d snuck down so many times this year, and upon seeing Poe’s front door finally a part of him began to relax.

But as he drew hastily closer, he then noticed the split wood by the handle and the large fact that the door lay slightly ajar. He felt like right up to that point, he’d been travelling on an adrenaline, the last few hours a blur. Suddenly everything came crashing into his chest, leaving him with the clean up, while time went back to normal speed. Finn couldn’t touch Poe’s door and had to let Rey step forward and push it open.

 _Creak_ …

Finn’s heart sank.

Poe’s flat was completely trashed. Far more than the time BB-8 got out, although that had only happened three nights ago so this must have been added on top of that. Poe’s bed had been ripped to shreds, its sheets torn into random strips. Feathers from Poe’s pillow were sprinkled all around the room and joined by the stuffing from his soft chair; moreover, one of the cushions had been completely pulled open and its covering rested on the ground like a deflated balloon. Poe’s kitchen looked an earthquake had shook all the cabinet doors open, flung everything on the floor where it became shattered or dented, and knocked the fridge over. And Finn would have believed it so, except for the large fist-sized hole in one of the bottom cabinet drawers, indicating that this was done by a human being.

But the worst thing of all was Poe’s instrument, lying now as a pile of smashed wood on the floor. It’s distinct curvy shape, that Finn always found calming because he associated it with Poe’s music, now no longer identifiable. He walked over to the pile and bent down to pick up one of the pieces. Poe got this instrument from his Father, in fact he mentioned once it was the last piece he had left of him and now the First Order had taken that too.

Finn straightened back up and threw another hopeless glance around the messy room. He sighed deeply. This all explained very clearly that Poe had been taken by the First Order, one of the exact things Finn was scared would happen. He squeezed the instrument piece in his hand, bit his lip, and tried not to cry.

He heard Han’s footsteps sturdy approach him and soon felt a hand on his shoulder. ‘It may not sound pleasant, Finn, but…’ he said, voice pained. ‘If Poe has information they want, the First Order will not have killed him until he gives it to them or they’re absolutely sure he won’t.’

Chewie immediately roared after Han spoke and, despite the rudeness, Finn genuinely couldn’t tell if it was meant to be speech or a rough expression of sympathy and agreement.

Turned out to be speech, when Rey then said, ‘yeah, Chewie’s right, Finn, we’ve still got a chance.’

Finn sighed again. ‘Why doesn’t it feel like it, though?’ he said and he couldn’t shake that _feeling_.

They searched Poe’s flat for any signs of _where_ he might have been taken, but it was fruitless. The First Order wouldn’t have known about Finn’s return; they had trashed his place because they could and not to send a message.

Finn’s hand hovered hesitantly over Poe’s leather jacket, flung onto the floor and under a pile of feathers and wood dust. He hesitated because the only way to take would be to wear it and he didn’t want Poe to think he’d try to steal his clothes while he was gone.

Rey appeared at his side, her staff slung over her shoulder. ‘You should take it, Finn,’ she said like she could almost read what he was thinking. ‘If we find Poe, we’re not coming back here again.’

After a minute, Finn said, ‘okay.’ He gave it another second. Then dusted it down and slipped the jacket on. The thing always did look too big on Poe so it remained no surprise when it fitted Finn almost perfectly.

‘Nothing’s here, kid,’ Han said, blaster raised and finishing his check of the room. ‘We should get going.’

‘Alright,’ Finn said and he walked straight out of the room before he could possibly change his mind. Suddenly his body didn’t feel comfortable in its own skin anymore and something seemed to be buzzing in his chest. Finn wanted answers but he wasn’t sure what to do next and the more time ticked by the more in danger of death Poe became. If he wasn’t already.

Finn almost jumped when Rey followed him out, a look of concern on her face. He shook his head at her and tried to swallow down some of this anxiety.

Han and Chewie came out a couple of seconds later.

After gently pulling Poe’s door closed, Han gestured for them all to gather around him. ‘Right, evidently Poe isn’t here,’ he said. ‘So we need to change up our game plan, pronto.’ He looked to Finn. ‘Do you know of anyone we could call upon, friend or foe, who might have knowledge about what they’ve done to him or where they might have taken him?’

Finn didn’t need to think long to know the answer to that question. ‘Solo, we were only meant to interact with ourselves. Even if I didn’t fully realise it at the time, I knew talking to Poe was dangerous and against the rules. I just wished it hadn’t cost him his life.’

Chewie roared something in his strong language that sounded like a response.

Despite this, Finn still had to say, ‘uh, I’m sorry, what did he say?’ He felt so rude for never understanding what this man was saying, especially if it happened to be directed at him.

‘ _He’s not dead until we see the body_ ,’ Han clarified. ‘Old Wookiee saying. It’s meant to raise spirits.’

‘Charming,’ Finn said, insincerely.

Bringing them begrudgingly back to the task at hand, ‘okay, instead of people, is there anywhere we could go?’ Han said.

‘Hmm… I don’t think so.’

He gave that answer a moment to settle down and then picked it straight back up again. ‘Finn, you asked for this mission,’ Han said, visible holding back his anger, part way because getting angry at him would only result in making Finn more anxious over the situation, and the other part because he didn’t want to draw too much attention their way. ‘We spent hours devising it and now have come all this way. You need to do a little better than _I don’t think so_.’

‘I know, I just—’ Finn said, just as annoyed with his lack of answers. He racked his brain for something, anything and all the while his chest kept buzzing louder and louder. ‘There might be a factory database we could access…’ he said, ‘I heard something… along those lines as an official.’

Finn knew he rested on the edge of his patience when Han said, ‘do you know where it would be?’

So he answered with a careful shrug, ‘part of it could be accessible in Captain Phasma’s office…’

Han sighed. ‘It’s a start,’ he said. He gestured towards the way they’d just come. ‘Lead the way then.’

Finn realised Han was right; it was a start, something to do and somewhere to go that didn’t involve standing around and panicking about Poe. In an attempt to calm the buzzing of his chest, Finn squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. It didn’t work.

To get to Captain Phasma’s office, they needed a route that would be unlikely to get them caught but would also _lead_ them to her office. It resided in the main and biggest building on the factory complex, so Finn led them back past Jessika’s bar and towards the nearest external door, which would point them toward Level Two. He reckoned they could slip outside, run along the side of the Level Two building and then re-enter the main building on the other side, theoretically slipping them past the worker’s quarters and the lunch hall, where a lot of people would be gathered right now. Once he saw where that entrance led he was sure he’d be able to navigate towards the Captain’s office.

However, they had only made it a few metres past Jessika’s bar, when Rey tensed and abruptly grabbed Finn’s arm, stopping him in his tracks. ‘Someone’s coming,’ she said.

Han raised his blaster and then pointed towards the bar. ‘Hide there,’ he whispered, very firmly. ‘We do not engage _unless_ we have to.’

Quickly they all darted inside and as Finn saw the shadow forming on the wall of the beyond corner, he turned to Rey.

‘How could you tell?’ he said.

Rey appeared confused by his query for a second before she said, ‘uh, I’ll explain later.’ She slipped her staff off her shoulder and into both hands.

Silence settled over them whilst they waited by the bar entrance. Chewie went to stand behind the actual bar, his crossbow blaster poised and aimed straight for the door. Han was positioned closest to the entrance with Rey a little further away on the other side. Behind her, stood Finn in Poe’s jacket, the only unarmed member of the group.

The shadow appeared on the other wall, opposite the bar, and gradually grew longer and longer. But the owner didn’t seem to be making a sound. Finn registered Han acknowledging that fact and he steadily aimed his gun right at the entrance. The only person Finn could think of who would possibly not make a noise when they moved was the Sith Lord, Kylo Ren, who also happened to be General Hux’s bodyguard. Finn had only seen him on very few occasions, but he always appeared completely unexpected and unannounced, and remained unreadable in his black and silver mask. If he was here, did that mean the other group had failed and now the First Order had begun sweeping the area, on the lookout for more Resistance members?

Then when the person finally walked past the bar entrance, all theories disappeared as Finn caught sight of a familiar face.

‘Slip.’ His mouth spoke the name before he managed to even put thought to action. Hastily he reached a hand out to Han. ‘No wait, don’t shoot,’ he said, urgent. ‘That’s my friend Slip.’

Han didn’t lower his weapon, so Finn moved forward and placed himself between it and the door to make sure nothing could happen.

Facing him, Finn said, ‘let’s call him over; he’d be glad to help us.’

Han sighed in reluctance and finally lowered his blaster. ‘Okay, kid,’ he said, raising a warning finger. ‘But don’t get us killed.’

Finn nodded and immediately turned his head back towards the door but Slip had gone out of sight. Rushing over, he looked out and found him wondering delicately down the corridor in the direction that led back towards Poe’s flat.

The immediate thing noticeable about him was his hair, messy and strung up and definitely against First Order worker regulation. The second thing, much bigger than the first that Finn surprised himself by not noticing it before the other, was his clothes. Slip had his jumpsuit open, also against worker regulation because it revealed his undergarments; the top half appeared to be wrapped idly around his hips, allowing his under vest to ride up and almost reveal the pink skin of his lower back and stomach.

Finn clasped his hand to his mouth and called hoarsely, ‘Slip. Slip, over here.’

At the sound of his name, Slip stopped instantly but didn’t turn. Finn called his name one more time, adding a bit of urgency, and very slowly Slip turned around in his direction.

Eyes wide and face pale for a second, he looked, honestly, like he’d seen ghost. Slip lingered where he was for a long moment and then, after a quick glance up and down the corridor, gently made his way over. ‘87…’ he said still walking with cautious while Finn took him further into the bar. ‘I—’ A burst of emotion, perhaps surprise or maybe delight, flashed across his face like fire on crisp wood.

But in the blink of an eye, it was gone again and in its place came something solemn and exhausted. ‘What are you doing here?’ he said. His eyes threw a wary glance up and down Finn’s body. ‘And what are you wearing?’

‘That’s not important right now,’ Finn said. ‘We’re kinda in a rush, but, hey,’ reaching out, he placed a hand on Slip’s shoulder and smiled softly, ‘it’s good to see you.’

Slip didn’t smile and shook off Finn’s hand the moment it was put on him. ‘Oh. Really?’ he said, slowly and unbelieving.

‘Yeah, it is,’ Finn said and tried not to let Slip’s tone get to him. He told himself Slip wasn’t angry at him, he had no reason to be; he must have been tired from work or something and right now just needed a smiling face. ‘You’re my friend, Slip.’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ he said, dismissive. ‘What do you want?’

‘So much for _he’d be glad to help_...’ Han said behind them, mumbling under his breath, and Finn shot him a dirty look.

He hoped Slip hadn’t heard it and hurried on to hide the fact Han had actually spoken at all. ‘Um, yes, well,’ Finn said, ‘I need some information about someone.’

Unsurprisingly, Slip frowned. ‘Why would you think I would have that?’ he said, disgruntled like someone had just asked him to remember a dream from three weeks ago.

‘I don’t think you’d have it specifically. I just thought you might have heard something.’

‘I guess,’ Slip said, shrugging. ‘I hear a lot of things these days.’

He couldn’t help it, Finn’s smile cracked slightly. ‘What does that mean?’ he said.

Slip exhaled the air from his lungs probably wishing he hadn’t said that. ‘It’s doesn’t mean anything, 87,’ he said. ‘Can we just hurry this up? I don’t want to get into anymore—’ Abruptly his lips clicked shut and he forced himself to restart that sentence. ‘…I don’t wanna get in trouble, okay?’

‘Okay, sure, I just—’ But the words died in Finn’s mouth after Slip shifted on the spot causing his vest to pop up a few inches and reveal a large black and purple blotches stretching across his sides. ‘What is that?’ Finn said instantly serious.

Slip looked down lazily at his stomach. ‘It’s nothing, really,’ he said and Finn didn’t like how causally he could look at these huge bruises on his skin. He rubbed a thumb over one of them almost as if it were ink instead of bruised tissue. ‘Some Officials just get a little too clampy during their happy time, that’s all.’

‘Oh boy…’ Han said through a sigh, behind them.

Confusion mixed with dread, and then that whole cocktail collided with the panic already in his system. His head spinning, Finn said, ‘w-what are you saying? Have they been..?’ He didn’t want to think about it. But he knew what those bruises could mean and, damn, he really wished he didn’t. ‘What have they been doing to you, Slip?’

Slip’s head snapped up suddenly, a snarl on his face. ‘What _the fuck_ do you care?’ he said.

‘What do you mean?’ Finn said, desperate. ‘Slip, why are you acting like this?’

‘That’s because I— _we_ all know you’re an arse,’ he spat.

‘A—what?’

‘An _arse_ , 87,’ Slip said and on that word he gave Finn a good, vicious shove backwards, although it didn’t have much effect. ‘You think you’re better than us that’s why you left. You got a promotion, because you’re Captain Phasma’s favourite, and you left me. And then you escaped the factory and left some more. _You abandoned me_.’

Finn struggled to understand what he was hearing. Where the fuck had he gotten these ideas from? Finn had certainly never seen things this way. ‘Slip, I swear it’s not like that,’ he said but had no idea what to do to make Slip believe him. Finn needed to say something to calm him down and make him see reason, yet that appeared easier thought than done. In the end, Finn decided it would be best just to bring them back to his original intentions. ‘Look, okay, you don’t have to tell me what happened,’ he said. ‘Just tell us about my friend.’

‘No, I don’t want to. Let me go,’ Slip said and with that he headed for the bar exit.

A huge part of Finn wanted to let him go but he knew he couldn’t. Either to obtain this information about Poe or to save what was left of their friendship, Finn reached out and grabbed Slip’s bare arm.

Obviously Slip went to pull away but Finn’s grip remained tight enough that to get free Slip had to twirl back around and attempt to push him away with his other hand. It was a rough and awkward moment, especially to have to do it in front of Rey, Han, and Chewie. Slip used his nails and dug them into skin of Finn’s first arm. Biting through the pain, he managed to pry it free and grab hold of Slip’s other hand. But after being made literally armless, Slip started with his legs. He missed the first time but caught Finn’s shin on the second kick making him cry out. So to avoid getting hit anymore, Finn flung Slip against the wall near the bar entrance and he hit the surface with a thud and a grunt, however, succeeded in staying on his feet.

Finn advanced on him and luckily, Han and Chewie physically moved to block the entrance. He could see it was hurting Slip, more than he let on, to be treated like this but Finn desperately needed to find out about Poe or else this whole trip would have been pointless. He placed a firm hand on the wall in front of Slip and said, ‘this is important and I’m not letting you go until you do.’

Rey’s staff came into view by Slip’s throat before Finn realised she’d taken Slip’s other side. ‘Yeah, you’re going nowhere, mate, until we let you,’ she said and Finn’s guilt subsided a little on gaining her support.

Slip regarded the weapon with wide eyes. ‘Damn, okay, okay,’ he said, now visibly scared, and held up his hands. ‘I’ll tell you what you want to know, just please don’t hurt me.’

‘You might want to hurry this little congress up a bit,’ Han said by the door but Finn didn’t look his way.

‘Slip,’ he said, ‘tell us what you know about our friend. His name is Poe Dameron. He wasn’t one of us; he was a singer in the factory bar.’

Slip still seemed pretty scared but considered Finn’s words. ‘I don’t know much…’ he said after a minute. ‘But some of the Officials would talk about the General decreasing their rounds, give them more time to— anyway, it was after they caught some mole in the factory, to make the rest of us more likely to fuck up when we think they’re not watching. All I heard was that it was a man and that he wasn’t a worker. That sounds like it could be your guy. But that’s all I know, okay?’

His words basically confirmed what they had already figured. That Poe had been captured by the First Order. Unfortunately, it didn’t give them anywhere to look or any hope on Poe’s current condition in that location. Nonetheless, Finn said, ‘thank you, Slip. You’ve been very helpful.’

‘Okay, kids, you need to wrap this up round about now,’ Han said and when Finn finally glanced over at him, he saw his blaster trained on the bar entrance. But before either he or Rey could ask what was wrong, blaster shots rung through the air and Han said, ‘too late. Get back.’ Blindly he threw his hand out back towards, gesturing for them to move away.

Rey lowered her staff to the floor and joined Han’s side, pulling out the small, white blaster from her back belt. Finn didn’t need to ask Slip to back away and put himself between him and the bar entrance.

Rey raised her weapon but despite pulling the trigger multiple times, nothing happened.

‘Rey, the safety,’ Han said.

‘Oh. Yeah,’ she said. Hurriedly she clicked the lever at the back. When she fired once more, a spark of red and orange shot out from the end of the blaster, the shock of which caused Rey to miss. But she soon got the hang of things and Finn watched her take out three or so officials in between a lot of missed shots.

The bar had a large entrance but even from his position Finn could only make out a few figures outside, meaning he had no idea whether any Stormtroopers were in with them. How had they been found? Searching through all their previous actions, Finn couldn’t locate one that stood out of place. Perhaps Slip had been too loud and caught the attention of someone nearby or maybe Han or Chewie weren’t really on the lookout like Finn originally believed, so someone slipped past their awareness.

It didn’t matter now. What mattered was making sure they didn’t raise any alarms as well so the other group still had a chance to succeed in their mission. If there didn’t appear to be one going off right now, maybe they’d only been spotted by a local group of officials.

Next, they needed a way out, but Finn knew he wouldn’t take it yet until they found Poe, alive or dead.

He looked to where Slip had scurried under a table in the space behind him. They made eye contact and Finn said, begging, ‘Slip, please, come with us. I can’t leave you here. Please let me do this for you.’

Slip’s fear, however great, didn’t stop him from scowling at Finn. ‘Oh you’d love that wouldn’t you?’ he said, shouting over the roar of blaster shots. ‘FN-2187-big-fucking-big-deal being _my hero_. I _bet_ you wish that. I don’t want you to rescue me. I don’t want anything to do with you. You were never my friend and I feel like a fucking idiot for every moment I ever thought I was yours—’

Without warning a flash of red shot through the air causing Slip to scream in agony, and the next thing Finn knew he was slumped on the floor clutching his side.

‘No, shit. Slip.’ Finn ran over to him and stumbled down at his side. The blaster shot had torn through his vest and left a gaping hole on the side of his stomach. Blood gashed out the hole and Rey called out from somewhere to put pressure on the wound. Finn pulled Slip into his lap and, despite the noise he made when he did so, pushed down on the bloody wound. Hot, slimy blood seeped through his fingers and, grimacing, Finn was glad it rested on Slip’s rib cage rather than his belly. No solid bones resided there and that meant the more he would have pushed down, the more blood would have been squeezed out.

Slip groaned and brought up a hand to join Finn’s. Except instead pushing down along with Finn, Slip clawed at his fingers like he wanted to remove them.

Then abruptly it hit Finn, he was forcing his hands away to let his wounds bleed out, _to let himself die_. ‘No, don’t do this,’ Finn begged. ‘Slip, please.’

Ignoring him, Slip continued. He half-coughed half-gagged, and blood spluttered onto his vest, small red dots easily noticeable on the white fabric. Sufficient strength remained in him for Slip to pull Finn’s hand completely off, only for a few seconds.

Finn replaced it with both. But somehow it didn’t appear to be enough; Slip grew paler by the second. Blood rose up his throat once more, spilling over and running down the sides of his face.

‘Fuck… you…’ Slip said, voice gurgling.

Finn watched in horror as the crimson stain on his chest became bigger and bigger. He looked up to his face and found Slip’s eyes had closed. No, he needed to stay awake. Finn called his name, took one of his hands away and used it to shake Slip’s shoulders, but nothing seemed to make him open them again. The blood under his hand began to lessen, but the most telling sign was the fact that Slip's chest had completely stilled. Only then did his eyes eerily slid open.

Finn couldn’t hear a thing anymore, not the sound of his friends’ voices or the chaos erupting beside him. All he could see was Slip’s pale unmoving face, staring gauntly up at the ceiling. It was over; he was gone.

This wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fucking fair.

But as Finn was slowly beginning to understand this was what the First Order did. It didn’t let you have a happy ending.

‘Slip, I— I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [CONTENT WARNING:  
> At the end of this chapter, Finn is reunited with his friend Slip, who Finn sees has large bruises on his sides. This is because Slip is currently being sexually abused by the officials. Although I do NOT state this explicitly nor go into any details of his abuse, I heavily hint towards it having happened through descriptions of Slip’s appearance and by some of the things Slip says. So if you find this triggering in any way, READ WITH CAUTION. Please stay safe; I do not intend to give anyone a triggering experience with my writing.  
> If you wish to avoid it completely, from the line “he looked out and found him wondering delicately down the corridor in the direction that led back towards Poe’s flat.…” skip to “His words basically confirmed what they had already figured...” but I can’t guarantee it will make complete sense story wise.]


	5. The Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, I have returned from the dead. I really can't believe this is actually done...
> 
> Please enjoy and comment if you can. I value any words said about my fic, genuinely :D

You know how to ride a dirt bike, and you know how to do  
long division,  
and you know that a boy who likes boys is a dead boy, unless  
                  he keeps his mouth shut, which is what you  
                        didn’t do,  
      because you are weak and hollow and it doesn’t matter anymore.

                                                        ‘ _A Primer for Small Weird Loves_ ’ - Richard Siken

 

Poe knew that alarm was for Finn. The second he heard it buzzing through the factory walls, he only knew. He wasn’t exactly sure _how_ he knew, certainly not some tiny thing inside of him screaming this screeching alarm was all for Finn, but more a logical conclusion to the current set of circumstances: last night, he had confessed to Finn that he’d chosen to become a member of the Resistance again and told him so along with a warning specifically not to get involved. Despite that however, he knew Finn could be a very stubborn man on occasion – the fact their relationship even existed at all clearly stood demonstrative of this – and so evidently he must have gone back on his word.

Barely two hours awake into his day and the noise made Poe freeze half way through stirring a bubbling pot of soup. The sudden dread sunk in his stomach like heavy stones in the middle of a deep lake. Just one question sprung to mind, though, what had Finn done?

BB-8 was yet to return from having missed the drop off time the day before. Remembering that discovery filled him first with the anger over the circumstances of their disappearance, of all the days for the First Order to unexpectedly search his flat it had to be then, and second with the shame he’d felt about snapping at Finn. If he tried, he could still picture the look of hurt on Finn’s face and knowing he put it there made this current dread sink his mood a little further.

A small part of him hoped the reason BB-8 wasn’t here didn’t support the idea they were now in the hands of the First Order. Not only would that mean they’d gotten hold of the Resistance message and all their plotting came to naught. But, Poe knew of their cruelty, and they would see no use in leaving BB-8 alive afterwards, regardless of whether they killed them during capture.

Trying to quell his now escalating breaths, Poe approached his window across the room, the cold floor sharp on his bare feet. The viewing point contained a rather small glimpse into the world outside: a chain link fence barely four yards away, the rear end and back alleyways of the buildings beyond that, and, if one leaned right out, one could just about make out the deliver entrance of the factory campus on the far right side. This in mind, Poe didn’t really know what he expected to see but maybe he just needed to quench his fears somehow with a few visual cues. It’d always seemed to help before.

Before he could stop it, a breeze blew inside and whisked up through the sleeves and legs of his clothes, leaving Poe feeling very small in his white t-shirt and fading grey boxer shorts.

He stayed by the window for a while, staring at nothing, until long after the sizzling and spitting of his over-boiled soup managed to catch his attention. Tutting, he made his way back over to the kitchen. The dish now ruined, Poe threw it away no longer in the mood for something to eat anyways. Surprisingly he’d ended up earning a lot more credits than expected from this factory entertainment job, meaning over the long run he’d also been able to stock up on food and actually use his fridge. So there would always be something else to eat later on.

Poe did not do much while the alarm still rung through the factory’s distant speakers, continuing on for a good half an hour. Then when it eventually finished, he mostly laid down across his sofa, staring at his feet on the other end, skinny and wan against the tatty red material. The split in one of the torn cushions rested awkwardly underneath his backside, but he forced himself to grow used to the discomfort.

Every so often, he would get up. Seemingly for insignificant reasons, since every time he did, he followed that action by forgetting exactly why he’d gotten up in the first place, and then immediately went to sit back down again.

Poe hated times like this. Overwhelmed with nothing but impatience and his usual self deprecation made everything get increasingly frustrating whilst the minutes ticked by. No one to go visit to find out what had happened with Jessika gone, plus he had no other friends here. Nothing else to do or that he felt like doing, the only thing remaining which could explain things was time. Poe had to wait until the usual time Finn came over and see if he even showed up at all.

So reluctantly he waited.

At some point he got dressed because Finn had already seen enough of him thus far. Well, that’s what he told himself as a way of acting like nothing was different here: right now, he just needed to get changed because Finn would arrive any minute from the end of his shift…

If he thought about it too much, if he acknowledged it, Poe knew he didn’t want to venture down that predictable path. It would end with him in a darker mood than the one he’d already obtained.

At least right now, he had time to tidy up his flat some after the disruptive raid from the previous day, and to think more vibrantly about that one thing almost constantly stuck on his mind.

Finn.

Poe’s heartbeat increased by merely thinking of his name. This one worker, who’d seen a reason to care about him and, by doing so, broke through these boundaries Poe had built around himself just by being kind. Before Finn came around, Poe hadn’t come close to even gently giggling in over half a decade. But now with him here, he laughed full-heartedly nearly every single day, sometimes so much so his cheeks would ache while he drifted off to sleep that night in the cool night air. How could one man find so many different ways to make him this happy? He even made remembering old stories something to bring him joy instead of sorrow, because Finn found them so damn interesting and Poe loved to watch the expression of fascination shift and twirl across his face. It seemed simply improbable but then maybe Poe had been in the dark for too long. And now it took him awhile to recognise a star, even when one appeared right in front of him.

Sat across his sofa again, Poe recalled the night Finn informed him of Captain Phasma’s plan to make him a Stormtrooper. In that moment, Poe had thought over the prospect of never seeing Finn again, of him being sent away to the Stormtrooper Academy and being taught how to hurt people, to kill them, or to steal them from their beds in the middle of the night, before anyone else would even notice they were gone.

And this huge, loud, overwhelming voice in his head had gone ‘no!’

That was when he knew. He was in love with Finn.

He saw what the First Order were doing, how they wanted to corrupt and poison this beautiful boy with a golden heart. And he couldn’t let it happen; they couldn’t have him, _his_ Finn. He didn’t think it would have made much difference anyway, a mere stepping stone in the greater rise of the new Resistance rebellion. But now a deeper purpose lay behind their mission and to get close to accomplishing it, Poe had clearly needed to speed things up a bit. Perhaps that way he could have some effect on Finn’s departure, rather than potentially having to resort to the physical upheaval of his body himself and carrying Finn far away from this place.

Even though he’d done it a million times before, Poe again ran through the conversation in his mind with Jessika over this issue. He vividly remembered the look of surprise on her face, the day after he found out about Finn’s Stormtrooper destiny, when he began to explain his reasons for increasing the get-out time of their Resistance work.

The First Order made no attempt to hide their hatred of homosexual acts. In the time before them, such things were no different from anything else, in fact the same could be said about being of Jedi descendancy or chosen commitment towards the religion or anything else the First Order deemed impure within the homosapien species. Usually people received others for who they were. But after the First Order's rise to power, times had changed. Even though the Resistance rejected the First Order that did not mean they couldn’t still become influenced by some of their nasty habits. They were all surrounded by propaganda for years; even liars believe their own lies in the end. And the First Order were the ones in power now. Everyone was susceptible to internalised hatred, whether they wanted to be or not.

‘Poe, are you sure we should do this?’ Jessika had begun to say the moment Poe delicately suggested they put forward the finishing date. The date on which Jessika was meant to leave the factory and, after an external meet up, take BB-8 with her to the nearest Resistance safe house. ‘Pushing the date so early is going to make everything more rushed. I haven’t even started on coding the—’

‘We need to, Jess,’ Poe had said, knowing he should have been watching his words in case the wrong impression came across but at this desperate time, anxiety took over and he didn’t have the room to care. ‘If Finn gets put into that program, he’ll be lost for years and who knows what will happen to him in that time.’

While talking, unable not to, he’d seen Jessika’s body freeze in the corner of his eye the moment he interrupted her, hoping it happened only out of shock for his rudeness. But then when he turned towards her, her expression showed unmistakably that she’d worked it all out and now she knew.

However, despite that, ‘my question still stands,’ she’d said calmly. ‘Poe, are you sure you should do this? Are you sure _he’s_ worth it?’

In that moment, Poe had known, even before she asked, this was an answer that needed much deliberation, to be considered over and over again until every variable had been put into account. But, in simple truth, all he wanted to do was _keep Finn safe_ and if this action moved towards that then that’s all he needed to know. Plain and simple. Finally he’d looked Jessika in the eyes and had said, ‘yes.’

‘Okay,’ she’d said. ‘We get it out before the end of the month.’ And that was it decided on the matter.

The Sun creeped lower and lower through Poe’s window. He watched the glowing, rectangular ray of light on his sofa’s arm and back shapeshift accordingly as the time passed by. He had spent many a day like this over the last half decade, wasting time doing nothing. Every so often he would dip his bare feet into the ray and revival in the warm feeling of sunlight on his tired skin. If he ever saw Finn again, this was something Poe thought about showing him, sensing he would like that idea since he’d mentioned before about enjoying the outdoors.

Finn had been expected to arrive at his flat almost two hours ago. Normally, Poe would put this absence down to Finn failing to find a clear path over here or maybe even getting caught up in some new unexpected official work. But, today, he obviously dismissed all those ideas after the alarm from this morning.

When finally the Sun faded away and the day passed by, Poe swung his legs off his sofa and put his shoes back on.

In the end, he’d remained unable to leave it at that and the next day, after proposing they move their Resistance plans forward, Poe chose to stay behind with Jessika during her clean up of the bar.

Positioned on opposite sides of the bar, the only sound between them had been the occasional clink of glass until gradually Poe plucked up the courage to ask, ‘are you… surprised I’m like that?’

Jessika immediately stopped and had looked up from her cleaning of the bar’s surface top. ‘No, of course not,’ she’d said without hesitation. Her gaze moved downward then and astonishingly she even laughed a little. ‘Poe, I ain’t exactly so _straight laced_ myself,’ she’d said, looking back up. ‘I’m simply surprised… you would trust me with knowing, considering the time we live in; I know I’m one to talk, but you never really know what people are capable of.’

Poe smiled then. ‘You’re my friend.’

‘And you’re _my_ friend.’ Her eyes had glowed warmly. Jessika had done a lot for him, helped him a lot by giving him things he couldn't afford such as medicine and medical oils and creams. However, at this point between them, he could see now it was beyond the physical things. ‘But… I guess, because I didn’t trust you with mine, it never occurred to me, you would trust me with yours.’

‘You’re trusting me now.’

She’d smiled. ‘That I am. And I regret not doing so earlier.’ A silence had pushed itself between them at that point. But, Jessika couldn’t let him leave without saying, ‘Poe, I don’t think you need to worry about… if Finn likes you too,’ she’d said, hand on his arm, grip firm, ‘I’m not blind, Dameron, I know when a person is in love. I only need to take a look at you.’

In what felt like the early hours of the morning, the front door to his flat burst open with violent force and several people flooded inside the room. Their armour clanked as they moved and their footsteps stomped evenly across the wood panel floor. But Poe didn’t look up from where he sat, slumped over himself in the centre of his sofa, until a dark shadow loomed over him.

He knew the First Order would come for him eventually, either by noticing his observations of the factory’s blueprints or by his involvement with Finn and the discovery of that through Finn’s absence. They probably wanted to know what he’d found and what he’d tried to sneak away. He knew he could have ran in the time given, but he'd no idea where to or how. The First Order had been vicious even under the previous government. But now they were the ones in charge, there would be nothing holding them back.

Only difference was, this time around, Poe Dameron had nothing left to lose. They’d taken everything, his parents, his ship, his livelihood, there didn’t appear to be anything else to steal from him that hadn’t already been violated.

So let them do their worst, he thought.

Poe looked up with just his eyes at the Sith Lord Kylo Ren, the one he’d heard so much about during his Resistance years for far too many tragic reasons. For a moment, Poe studied him for any signs of emotion or intention behind that unyielding black mask, and then he spoke, ‘so who talks first? Do I talk first or do you wanna get in—?’

He got cut off when the blunt end of a Stormtrooper blaster slammed into the back of his head, knocking him off the sofa and down onto his knees. He grunted and rubbed the space that had been hit as two other Stormtroopers came forward and stood by his back.

Silent and poised, Ren crouched down in front of him and regarded him freely under his dark mask. ‘Where is your cat headed?’ he said.

Poe almost could have laughed; the question seemed so causal. But at least it told him BB-8 was safe and not currently in their possession. ‘Don’t know,’ he said, ‘haven’t seen them for a day or so. I would ask you the same question.’

Kylo straightened up. ‘Search him,’ he said, ordering the Stormtroopers that stood behind Poe.

They yanked him to his feet and immediately their hands began groping at parts of his body. One ripped his jacket from his shoulders and threw it to another Stormtrooper to search the pockets. The sound of armour clanking indicated one of them crouched and Poe soon felt hands on his legs and shoes as well.

Eventually a robotic voice announced, ‘nothing, sir.’

Kylo Ren’s body appeared to clench under his black cloaks like that frustrated him.

But really, Poe thought, what had he expected to find? Clearly Poe had known they were coming, they didn’t think him so stupid as to have left the important message on his person.

‘Search the room.’ Kylo waved his hand and that mere action appeared to suddenly animate alive all the Stormtroopers in the room. They got to work, trashing his entire flat all over again.

So much for tidying up, Poe mused as he watched them tear apart his kitchen sending pots, pans, and cutlery flying, ripped the sheets off his bed and tore open his pillow scattering feathers across the air. But all this destruction didn’t get to him; this home had always belonged to the First Order, Poe only used it as means to keep himself alive, it meant nothing sentimentally, and not many things did these days.

However lastly, but certainly not the ending of, they tipped his guitar case contents onto the ground, then kicked and smashed his old guitar to pieces. He had to admit watching _that_ got to him a little. He’d been given that guitar by his Father, the last remaining piece of him in fact; it knew him, understood his soul. Poe wondered if he would ever connect with another instrument the same way again. The same could be said of the ship his Mother gave him that the First Order took away five years previous.

When they had finished, Poe looked up to the dark Lord and didn’t need to see his eyes behind the visor to know he was staring right at him. They had wanted him to see this destruction and feel something. It surprised him how they’d still managed to succeed.

Finally, Kylo gestured for the door. ‘Take him away. Hux will want to interrogate him.’

Rough hands grabbed his arms and dragged Poe from the room. The click-clanking of their armour flooded the corridor walls. They took him briskly through the factory and into an area he’d never been granted access to or managed to sneak inside at any point. The lack of entry having something to do with the key pad attached to the wall beside the only door to that section. Even now with everything lost and broken, Poe couldn’t resist his training and glanced up to watch Stormtrooper fingers dance over the pad.

Moving too fast for his mood to identify the code, however, and the next thing he knew the door clicked open and they were walking him inside. They disappeared down the long stretch of cool metallic corridor and then around corner after corner after corner until eventually Poe felt like he was being led in circles to purposefully disorient him.

Once thoroughly dizzy, his accompanying Stormtroopers finally arrived at the prison and threw him into a small sized cell, closed the door and locked it shut.

Silence.

The cell at least contained a light, small and dusty swinging chaotically above him, so his company wouldn’t only be the dark. Some long time after they put him there, a shutter opened at the bottom corner and a tray of food got shoved inside.

Poe eyed the food from where he lay on the floor and wondered if he could be bothered to inspect it for sabotage. A part of him didn’t really care anymore if it was, but some small spot inside of him still clutched at hope. He listened to that part because it felt like Finn and got up to inspect the food.

Poe let his body clock take over in an attempt to keep track of time, drifting off to sleep when he believed he normally would. If it worked correctly, then that meant only a day had passed since he was taken.

Only a day. And then he lost track.

After his fourth meal, the door swung all the way open and First Order officers scuttled inside. Clad in black this time, they hauled Poe to his feet and dragged him from the room. Leading him through several metallic corridors again and then unto another part of the factory.

Once inside and the doors shutting behind him, he immediately became hit by a sharp chemical smell like he were now walking into a medcenter instead of a durasteel factory. Taking in the full view, he also saw the bright red carpet that stretched across the floor was immaculate. Crisp thin black lines ran parallel on each side, equally spaced a little way from the edges. The mix of sharp red and black worked like a tricky optical illusions on his eyes; the longer he stared at it, the quicker it started to give him a headache.

The second big change Poe observed was the almost complete lack of sound. His footsteps became more noticeable, as well as the sharp creasing slide of the First Order officers’ trousers. He glanced down at their legs confused at how a fabric could make so much noise upon movement. Long black drapes clung to the walls at the top and the bottom like someone desperately wanted to hide what lay behind them.

Perhaps they did hide something. The logical conclusion was that behind them resided some special material which absorbed all the sounds, making it impossible to hide any words from probing ears.

At the end of the corridor, one of the officers stepped away to open the door. Poe was taken inside to find a young man sat behind a desk, engrossed in the flimsi documents laid out before him. His vibrant red hair had been swept back across his head. But despite the elaborate décor, the man’s frame appeared thinner than it should be, hollowing his cheeks and turning his fingers into bony digits. His pink skin was wan and only served to brighten his hair and darken his black First Order General’s uniform. He ignored them all as the officers shoved Poe down into the chair opposite the desk and then left the room without a word.

The space being lit by only the light on the desk, resulted in a chill running down his spine as Poe abruptly noted the dark figure of Kylo Ren stood silent and poised in the corner. The Sith Lord watched them behind his dark mask.

Poe knew the man sat before him. He remembered from his Resistance training: General Brendol Hux Junior, owner of this city’s only First Order durasteel factory and First General to Leader and Chancellor Snoke. Although in holo-pictures he’d been shown during training, Hux had looked a lot healthier.

The General took a while to finish studying his documents, leaving Poe to get comfortable under Sith Lord Ren’s gaze. Eventually he cleared his throat and began to pack away the sheets of flimsi. Once collected, he put the document away in a drawer to his right, and then pulled out a set of photos from the same drawer. Hux carefully placed each photo down, facing toward Poe, across the desk’s surface.

And as each picture came into view, Poe’s chair grew more and more uneasy. In total there were eight of them and every single one had been taken inside of Poe’s factory issued flat. From high angles as well, like they were taken by a surveillance camera, although, Poe struggled to work out where they’d hidden it. The majority were of him performing simple day-to-day tasks around the flat, eating in the kitchen or reading on the bed. Thankfully none were from in the refresher. A particularly painful one showed a moment during his and Finn’s first meeting, where Poe sat shirtless on the arm of the sofa while Finn dabbed his wounds. Another showed him and Jessika bent across the kitchen surface top, probably discussing and deliberating over what to put in the Resistance message.

However, the worst was the one of him and Finn dancing, caught mid laugh together. Such a private moment invaded. Poe had lost track of how many times they’d danced so he couldn’t remember when exactly that would be from. But clearly the First Order’s message got through: they wanted him to know they had been watching all of them.

They’d been watching  _everything_. Hux then confirmed this prospect exactly.

‘Poe Dameron,’ he said. ‘We’ve, well, been watching you for quite some time.’

It made sense now; Finn was able to become his friend because they'd let him, in control all along. Poe gulped and tried to quell his anxiety. ‘Evidently,’ he said with all the sarcasm he could muster. They didn’t deserve to see his fear.

Hux continued on unwearied. ‘We know who you are; we know your history with the First Resistance. So you must be wondering why we would employ you.’

‘Not really.’

That managed to gain a reaction this time. Although relatively small, Hux’s eyes narrowed and he took a short moment before speaking again. ‘We know all about your secrets, Mr. Dameron.’ He then moved his hand over the table and tapped Finn in the dancing picture as he said, ‘especially  _the private ones_.’

Poe’s body reacted in one immediate exhort, legs squeezing shut, fists clenching, and eyes growing wider.

Happy with the response, Hux gave a slight smile. Shifting position in his seat as he moved the conversation on. ‘What we don’t know is what you put in the message you wrote on a piece of flimsi,’ he said, ‘which you then placed inside the collar of your domestic animal. This is something we predicted upon review of your job application and let me tell I’m very glad you let that prediction come true.’

Poe felt like ice cold water had been splashed across his back.

‘Thanks to you, we will be to apprehend and destroy a prominent Resistance stronghold.’

And the Resistance would be totally unaware. Completely defenceless, his worries told him, since they currently remained under the illusion that thus far the First Order hadn’t yet learnt of their return.

Interlacing his fingers together and resting them down in front of him, Hux said, ‘but only if you do one thing. Tell us what was in that message and, for your efforts, we’ll gladly let you go free.’

Poe let out an exasperated huff. ‘You genuinely expect me to believe that,’ he said. That was right. They wouldn’t have any idea of where it currently resided since him and Jessika never went to visit the safe house for the sole reason of preventing that from happening. In fact Jessika made a point of only learning the Resistance safe house location on the exact day she set out. Unfortunately, she insisted, in case something happened to her, that Poe learn the location as well, meaning he did indeed have something to tell Hux right now.

‘Well, it does sound a little ridiculous, doesn’t it now?’ Hux said. ‘Perhaps not. Perhaps if you tell us the contents of the message, we’ll consider thinking of a better death for you than disembowelling. How does that sound? Believable or not?’

Poe chose not to stop his Resistance training and said nothing. He set his jaw and stared Hux down.

Visibly, Hux’s facial features tightened. ‘I’m not a very patient man, Mr. Dameron,’ he said, slow to keep calm, ‘especially right now. I am very used to getting what I want—’

‘Pfft, now that  _is_ believable.’

‘—and here will be no different.’ Hux paused a moment to regain complete composure. He sighed. ‘I like you, Mr. Dameron, you remind me of myself I’ll admit, which is why I’m willing to give you a chance, one chance, to tell me what I want to know.’

‘Or else what?’ He wanted to hear them say it. He wanted the First Order to admit every single terrible thing they were going to do him.

Hux abruptly decided to pace himself. He adjusted his collar, picked a piece of lint from his shoulder, tapped on the desk. ‘Something very unpleasant might happen. And I’m not talking about the disembowelment,’ he said and his gaze became final. ‘What was on that message?’

Poe breathed in deep and glanced down at his hands to give off the impression he was considering the offer. As a matter of fact, he did notice something then. They’d never given him shackles, which surprised and insulted him in equal measures. He looked back up at Hux, then leaned forward and said plainly, ‘go to hell.’

Hux remained quiet for a long second and, to be honest, Poe expected him to either laugh or lash out and slap him. When neither occurred, and Hux simply sighed again, glancing over the pictures, a bad feeling grew in him about where this was headed.

‘Hmm,’ Hux adjusted one of the photos with a finger before speaking more firmly, ‘go a few rounds on his face.’

Kylo Ren suddenly surged forward and, not giving Poe time to respond, grabbed hold of his shirt and crashed a gloved fist into his cheekbone. The Sith Lord having stayed so still and silent throughout this whole interrogation meant Poe’s brain struggled to catch up to the current situation, especially while Kylo’s fist continued to collide into it. Three or four punches in and he could already feel hot blood dripping down his skin, clotting into his beard. The fact he could taste it was the only indication for where it came from, Kylo Ren’s hits making his head go numb. Through the haze, he could just about make out that Kylo was grunting, so much concentrated angry suddenly being allowed release.

However, after the fifth punch – or maybe the sixth – Hux raised a hand and said, ‘no wait.’

Kylo Ren’s fist stopped mid swing but his other hand tightened its grip on Poe’s shirt.

Poe had somehow grabbed hold of the arm with both hands during that time, probably for stability.

‘I changed my mind; he’s already been beaten up before,’ Hux said. ‘Instead, go into his head. Show him what real fear looks like.’

Kylo Ren put action to command; he ripped his arm from Poe’s grasp and with the flick of a wrist, Poe’s own arms moved against his will and shot down towards his sides.

The fear blurred his mind for a moment and so it took him longer than usual to realise Kylo was using the Force on him. He’d never felt the Force in this way before, certainly seen it used violently on others and studied the after effects of death and injury. But, not until now, did he fully comprehend the power behind such an unknown existence.

Securely restrained, Kylo lifted a hand in front of Poe.

He regarded Kylo for a second as nothing seemed to be happening. And then abruptly it washed over him like hot oil. Sticky and scolding. First, his nostrils and throat constricted of their own accord, cutting off his air. He gagged and spluttered in attempt to get any last wisps of breath. Then, it felt like fingers were slowly slipping inside of his skull, where then they chose to compress and squeeze. In a display of veracity, Kylo flung Poe’s head up and back, keeping it hovered there and causing every muscle from his chest to his scalp to tense.

Poe grunted, and revelled in any small break or relief from the pain. When he finally caught enough of his breath again, Poe used it for all his worth to blurt out, ‘the Resistance… will not be… intimidated… by you.’

In frustration Kylo doubled his efforts, causing Poe to cry out from the abrupt onslaught of fresh pain. ‘However, the Resistance isn’t here, is it?’ Kylo said, teeth clenched. Unlike Hux, this man seemed to leave his emotions on the surface where they could easily fester and wait to be unleashed on others. He tilted his head suddenly like he’d found something interesting. ‘But there’s someone else who is,’ he said.

The sadistic mind of Kylo Ren brought up images in Poe’s mind he wouldn’t even conceive of; they were so horrifying. ‘No…’ Poe couldn’t believe what he was seeing, didn’t want to. ‘Make it stop! Please! I don’t want to, I don’t want to—’

The vision swirled and deepened, grew into colour, trapping Poe in its clutches and forcing him to watch and to experience the one thing in the world he would never ever want to do.

If they wanted Poe to be scared, it was working. He was fucking terrified.

Through the thin veil between the imagery and the pain, he heard Hux briefly say, ‘hmm, they never learn.’

Afterwards, the First Order officers had to literally _drag_ him out of the room. He lay in their grasp unable to move even if he wanted to, arms dangling limply, legs dragging behind and getting caught on the rough carpet. Drool began to drip slowly from his bottom lip. His head felt like it had been packed with air and even though it hung lifeless from his neck, the extra air inside made Poe think it could float away at any given moment.

So caught up in the feeling, he hadn’t kept up with his surroundings and it surprised Poe when the officers finally threw him back into his cell. Having no chance to brace himself, he hit the floor awkwardly and ended up biting his tongue. Again his mouth gradually filled with sticky blood. He let that slip out onto the floor and mix with the dirt and dust, still unable to move with half his face slumped ungracefully against the ground.

It only occurred to him now that the First Order had never actually extracted the desired information from him. Even though Kylo Ren put him through a pain he never knew possible to experience, Poe was well aware he never uttered a single word of use during the interrogation. He huffed, lips awkwardly squished against the filthy ground, and waited for sleep to claim him. They’d hurt him but hadn’t gotten what they wanted; he didn’t care why.

Poe awoke to an odd sound at his door. The clinking and clanging of metal against metal, certainly not something he would normally hear when officials opened his cell; with one simple click and slide, they’d unlock the latch and swing the door open. But this was not that motion.

Poe hadn’t moved from his position on the floor. His shoulder arched where it lay crushed oddly under his body weight. Half his face was numb and puffy from the punches he took, his left eye nearly swollen shut and very tender. A mass of the blood had seeped into his beard and clumped together in a gross lumpy mess. Not for the first time in the last few countless days, he felt disgusting.

The clinking and clanging continued for a solid amount of time before finally diminishing, followed by the cell door swinging very slowly open.

Rising on sharp bones, Poe squinted up at the person now standing at his cell entrance. He recognised them without even trying. ‘…Karé?’ he said.

‘Fucking Force… Poe,’ Karé Kun said back, her silhouette outlined in the door way, an expression of anguish on her face. The only source of light came from the small bulb above him and right now it seemed to be running on its last legs, glowing dimmer and dimmer by the hour. Yet he saw she was dressed in an all black fabric Resistance uniform. Usually worn for stealth missions, Poe remembered.

‘Please tell me it’s him this time,’ came Iolo Arana’s voice from out in the hallway, Poe couldn’t see him but he would be able to identify that voice any day.

‘Yeah, it’s Poe,’ Karé said, disheartened, clearly examining his broken face.

‘Let me through,’ Jessika Pava said, the third and final arrival. ‘I’ll check him over.’ Dressed in the same black uniform, she appeared from behind Karé only to stop the moment she laid eyes on him. ‘Oh Force… Poe.’ Sinking to her knees, Poe shifted up onto his hands to meet her half way. ‘Hey,’ she said, smile hopeful.

Voice hoarse, ‘Jess?’ Poe said, praying with his whole being this wasn’t another mind trick brought up by Kylo Ren and therefore the start of another torture session. They never got their desired information after all, so it was possible. The prospect began to circle in his mind.

‘Yeah, it’s me,’ she said, smile increasing slightly.

Poe frowned. He needed clarification of the reality. ‘Why are you here?’

Jessika’s expression became confusion. ‘We didn’t meet,’ she said, like it were obvious. ‘I waited at the drop point but you never showed. So I thought the worst, got my team together, and came back for you.’

Got _her team_ together? Jessika possessed a Resistance team. One that clearly consisted of Karé Kun and Iolo Arana, Poe’s old team mates from his own time in the first Resistance. The friends that flew with him, fought by his side, and stood, along with their fallen member Muran, in the main HQ station in D’Qar, when they got the news Jyn Erso and her team had been captured and, as a result, the Resistance would soon be crushed by the First Order’s clutches. No wonder Jessika had sort to recruit him so quickly, and on his first day of all things, she must have recognised him from his old friends. Although that didn’t explain why she’d never informed him of her team up until now.

Kylo Ren could easily have plucked the memories from the back of Poe’s mind to form the correct illusionary figures needed to create such a fantasy. Plus the whole factor of how they even managed to get inside an unmapped part of the factory, for a start. They’d have no clear instruction of where to find him; not to mention, the Sith Lord’s force sensitivity so strong, he would have registered their presences, the second they took step inside the building, _if he were looking_. Did Jessika really find him worth that risk? Poe would certainly feel any of his members were worth so, but part of him said, when the other way around, they should simply leave him behind.

‘Are you-are you real?’ Poe said, this bad logic fuelling his fear.

‘Real..?’ Jessika said and the colour drained from her face. ‘Poe, what do you mean?’ Her smile gone and voice now serious.

‘What’s _happened_ to him?’ Karé said from above them, presumably still stood by the door.

‘To be honest, I’m not sure,’ Jessika said, her eyes not leaving Poe’s. Clicking on a small flashlight, she then began to check over his body. First she examined the condition of his face, cautiously fingering the dry blood on his cheek and clotted beard, the tips feeling like feathers over his bruised eye, and next attempted to find its source. With all their time spent together and his recent condition of torture, Poe didn’t shy away from the touch.

‘Is it something we can find out while on the move, per chance?’ Iolo said from out in the hallway, yet to be seen.

‘Potentially,’ Jessika said, flashing the light in his eyes.

Temporarily, his sight flooded with black patches.

‘Why?’ Karé said in her usual calm mission-demeanour.

Iolo sighed impatiently and, with no trouble, Poe could picture him squeezing the bridge of his nose with a fore finger and thumb for dramatics. However, when he spoke next, his voice remained serious. ‘Because, like I’ve already said a thousand times before, I think we should get out of here as soon as we physically can.’

‘You know normally I wouldn’t, but I actually agree with Iolo this time,’ Karé said. Poe glanced up and watched her turn to Jessika, who was now finishing her check of Poe’s current state. She tapped Jessika’s shoulder. ‘Jess, we should go.’

‘I know,’ she said. Jessika clicked off her flashlight and put it away. Carefully she waited until she had all of Poe’s attention again and then said, gently. ‘Poe, listen to me. You need to stand up, okay?’ After he made no clear move to obey her, she raised an eyebrow. ‘Come on, it’s not too hard.’

He almost half-smiled at her but this time he wasn’t doing so in an attempt to pull her strings.

‘Look, you’ll hate me, but we don’t have time for this,’ Karé said and that stood as the only warning before she barged forward, shoved her hands under Poe’s armpits and hoisted him up roughly onto his feet.

Poe grunted in pain; his muscles stiff just from lack of use. He was suddenly glad Kylo Ren only kept the punches to his face. But at least that finally answered his question on whether they were real or not, since Sith Lord’s visions never physically became real enough to move him properly. Only remained just that, visions, designed to show him what he was capable of instead, and moved like gentle gusts of air against his skin, just how Jessika’s fingers had felt on his face a minute before.

‘Karé?!’ Jessika said, but once he were up, she stood back and let Karé leave the cell again.

‘It was necessary, yes,’ Karé said pointedly, flicking a finger in Jessika’s face while she walked past to silent any retribution from her. ‘For now we can go,’ Karé threw her hand forward to the door.

‘Fantastic,’ Iolo said, although his tone failed to reflect any of the sentiment behind such a word. Now stood up, Poe could see him and found Iolo to also be wearing the black stealth uniform ‘Out the door, out the door,’ he said, gesturing his arm to emphasis the command as Jessika and Poe made their way out of the cell. Once met with Poe’s eyes, he clasped a firm hand on his shoulder as a silent hello.

‘Where are we going?’ Poe said as he staggered alongside them down the prison hallway.

‘We’re getting you out of here, Poe, okay?’ Jessika said, softly, if a little patronising as well.

‘I figured,’ Poe said, deadpan.

‘Alright,’ Karé suddenly said. ‘He came back quickly.’

They reached the prison entrance and immediately flattened against the wall while Iolo checked if the coast was clear.

‘I came back awhile go,’ Poe said. ‘I just needed to know if you were real or not.’

Jessika looked to him. ‘Yeah, you still haven’t explained what that means,’ she said. ‘But you will.’ He knew from the expression on her face, she meant every word of that statement.

‘I’ll do it later,’ Poe said, nodding. ‘For now let’s focus on getting out of here.’ He held out his hand. ‘Blaster?’

Positioned in front of him, ‘blaster,’ Karé said, passing him one out from behind her back.

It felt pleasantly warm in his hands, previously being flush against her body heat. He clicked off the safety and shifted it around his fingers, letting his muscles remember how to hold and use one.

‘This way,’ Iolo snapped and disappeared out into the corridor.

Karé, Poe, and then Jessika followed. They came out into the wide metallic corridors. Gusts of cool air brushed against their faces as they lightened their footfalls for less noise.

Poe only ventured down these when being accompanied by Stormtroopers or officers. So the place immediately filled him with an unsettled feeling so strong that it took him a good while to realise they were heading in the wrong direction.

The way they were headed now was towards the room Hux interrogated him in and as far as he remembered, it only led to that place.  But Poe trusted his old team mates and if they believed this to be the right way, he wouldn’t argue or question. Even though, when he saw the double doors ahead and caught a whiff of that chemical smell, his body automatically tensed. He readied himself for the red carpet, but the bright, rich colour somehow managed to overwhelm his vision the moment after Iolo slipped one door open and held it while the rest of them made their way inside.

His unsettlement didn’t lessen as they began to descend down the black lined carpet. He glanced at the black drapes, either side, to stop his gaze from lingering on that door at the end. Clearly Hux was no longer inside or else they wouldn’t be here. No person in their right mind would get within such close proximity of the enemy on a rescue mission. However, it led him to wonder if they were going to take him through Hux’s office to get out of the factory.

The mere prospect of going inside that room again and remembering what he’d experienced set Poe’s nerves on end. It was like hearing the alarm for Finn all over again. He felt his brain cloud over and the dread swirl around and around in his stomach.

He still tried to hide the symptoms, though. But keeping his walk straight got harder as his team moved closer and closer to the end door. Almost there, Iolo’s hand reached out and Poe drew his body inwardly whilst he waited for him to grab the door handle.

But instead Iolo stopped by one of the black drapes and pulled it apart enough for someone to slip inside into the space behind. Poe watched Karé disappear between them and then slowly became aware he’d lingered too long and now Iolo was staring at him in concern.

Poe darted inside then as an attempt to avoid giving them time to ask questions about his condition; they could worry about him later. However, he underestimated how dark it would be and left without visual cues or distractions for a moment let his mind wonder. He felt trapped, clasped in Kylo Ren’s malicious grip once more until his eyes gradually adjusted. And even then, he couldn’t make out much. At ground level, a small vent lay opened, its door propped up on the wall beside it, indicating how Jessika and her team had gotten into the building. Poe stumbled back and clutched his head for want of something to steady himself. The place behind here turned out to be larger than he’d thought and instead of hitting a wall, he hit air and needed to stick his leg out last second to stop from tumbling down completely.

Karé stepped into his space. ‘Hey, hey, you alright?’ she said.

‘I… I don’t really know,’ Poe said, looking from Karé’s concerned face to Iolo’s to Jessika’s to the floor again. His head started spinning viciously, so he squeezed his eyes shut and reached out again for something to steady him.

He felt Iolo’s hand landed on his arm and Karé’s came to rest on his shoulders.

‘It’s okay, Poe,’ Jessika said and she firmly took his hands in hers, ‘we’ve got you.’

And they did, but it felt like they were too late.

¬

A particularly loud blaster shot seemed to bring Finn back to the present. He shook his head and looked down at his hands. They were coated in dry blood. He went to rub them on his clothes but abruptly realised he’d gotten some blood on Poe’s jacket. Although, admittedly, more of it was on his black vest underneath. Another sizzling red shot flashed above them and Finn concluded it would be something to be worried about at another time. He glanced back upwards and couldn’t help letting his eyes wonder to that spot in the corner, where Slip’s body lay, lifeless and empty, face hidden underneath a small dinner cloth Chewie had thrown from behind the bar.

Finn watched him for a moment, not really knowing what he expected to happen.

Before Rey beside him gently nudged him on the shoulder. ‘Finn,’ she said, although he could barely hear her over the next few blaster fires. She waited until he looked across first, then held out a blaster. Han must have passed her another one when Finn wasn’t paying attention. ‘Here.’

Finn sniffed, wiping a hand under his nose, and said, loudly, ‘I don’t,’ _cough_ , ‘know how to shoot.’

‘Well, now’s the best time to learn,’ Han shouted from the other side of the door, ducking under another shot and firing back into the smoky screen that used to be the corridor.

‘Rawwwrrr!’ Chewie said instantly after.

‘Okay!’ Han said in a huff, turning back to him. However, he took a moment to tame his anger and when next he spoke his voice came out much calmer. ‘Alright, I’ll go a little easier on him, but for now we could really use another shooter.’ He started to reload his blaster. ‘These First Order bastards have us pretty much barricaded in here. And they just keep coming; I thought the security on this place wasn’t supposed to be high.’

‘Officials,’ Finn said, correcting, although it seemed irrelevant.

Han glanced up, ‘huh?’ a magazine in between his teeth.

Finn said, ‘they’re called Officials,’ and then much quieter, ‘not that it matters.’

Chewie let out another roar. Several red shots fired from his crossbow blaster to keep up while Han reloaded.

Rey did the same. Finn observed her missing her target a few good times, getting it on the final, more deliberate, try. Her head snapped towards him for a second. ‘Chewie, said _thank you_ ,’ she said.

Finn smiled slightly. ‘Tell him—’ he went to say.

But then a voice rang through the air. ‘Hypergrenade!’

Han’s head shot up, eyes wide. ‘Kids, take cover!’ he just about managed to say which allowed for everyone to dive for cover.

On instinct, Finn grabbed Rey and, causing a small squeak, pulled her to the other side of him, where he shielded her with his body whilst she clung to his arms. He could feel her slightly protest to the unequal shielding but he didn’t want to lose anymore friends.

 _Crack_!

A hissing noise played out in the corridor, followed by another colossal bang, and then a bright white piercing light shone in through the bar entrance. It lasted for a minute or so, growing brighter and brighter, meaning Finn had to squeeze his eyes shut and turn away. Before everything then abruptly fell silent and still.

After a beat, Finn opened his eyes and glanced down at Rey. A thin layer of powder now coated her three hair buns, as it did almost the whole room, sourcing from the bar entrance. ‘Are you okay?’ he said.

‘Yeah,’ she said, cradled in his arms and looking up at him. ‘Tell Chewie what, huh?’

Frowning at first, Finn gradually got her meaning. ‘Oh,’ he said, remembering. ‘I was going to say tell him “you’re welcome,” but then I remembered he can understand Basic.’

‘Yeah, he can,’ Rey said with, despite the situation, a small smile. ‘Are _you_ okay?’

‘I am,’ Finn said.

Satisfied with each other’s safety, they glanced over to where Han stood but found the space currently empty. Although, before they had a chance to panic, his and Chewie’s heads popped up from behind the bar.

Everyone exchanged several silent questioning glances, all thinking the same thing. If the bar clearly remained untouched, then who had thrown the hypergrenade? And why had they aimed it towards the First Order officials instead of them? The other team would still be busy with their mission, so it couldn’t have been them.

As if to answer the question on cue, a voice called out from the smoky corridor, ‘General Solo, you in there?’

Silence.

Han turned to Chewie one more time. ‘Who’s asking?’ he shouted back, although Finn failed to recognise the uncertainty in his voice.

The voice didn’t reply straight away and Finn expected Han to immediately use the opportunity to get in a better shooting position or to finish reloading his gun, but he chose to stay exactly where he was and do nothing.

Out in the corridor, Finn just about made out a male-sounding voice say, ‘hey you got yourself in this hole; I ain’t helping you out.’

He side-eyed Rey for a second in confusion, as did she to him. They let go of out each other and simultaneously moved back up against the wall next to the entrance of the bar.

However, before either of them had a chance to question the situation or act, the original voice responded with, ‘it’s... Lieutenant Karé Kun, General. I’m here with my team,’ they said. ‘We were sent as back up by General Leia Organa.’

If anything, Han looked like that was what he expected to hear. He knew Leia better than either Finn or Rey did, so it would be no wonder.

A moment later, the voice out in the corridor spoke again. ‘If it’s alright, we’re coming in,’ they said.

‘Understood,’ Han called back, coming out from behind the bar along with Chewie.

Out from the smoky corridor stepped three figures. Finn recognised the first one easily as Jessika Pava, her long black hair kept in a simple plait wrapped into a bun across the back of her head. Her attire consisted of a black fabric shirt and trousers. The second figure stood an inch taller than Jessika; she possessed the same black outfit and wore it over dark golden skin. Her blond hair, done in a short style, stuck up from the top of her head presumably because of styling gel, allowing the gold hoops pierced through her earlobes to show. This must have been Lieutenant Karé Kun, Finn guessed. The final figure came up to a height between Jessika and the other woman. His facial features appeared similar to that of Jessika’s than to anyone else in the room, but of course didn’t match completely. Wearing again the same black outfit as the two women, he had strong cheekbones, hooded eyes, and black hair slick back over his head.

Rey jumped forward and quickly picked her staff up from the floor.

Even though he knew and trusted Jessika, he didn’t feel the same with these other two people. His mistrust deepened when he stood up to join Rey’s side and spotted another figure still out in the corridor, crouched down with their back towards them, presumably checking over the dead officials.

The instant he saw them, Han held up a hand. ‘It’s safe, kids,’ he said. ‘They’re Resistance.’

Rey took a moment, but soon lowered her staff, and then slung it back over her shoulder.

Finn did the same with the blaster she’d given him and tucked into the back of his trousers, under Poe’s jacket.

‘Is everyone okay?’ Karé said, stepping towards them and away from her team, her stance becoming that of someone ready to put action to words and help, if need be.

‘As we’ll ever be,’ Han said, tired and solemn.

Karé nodded, relaxing. But, as he predicted she would, her eyes immediately widened and the stance returned again, when she set her gaze on Finn. ‘Are you sure?’ Karé said.

‘Yeah that’s not his blood,’ Rey said to clarify.

Despite this, Karé’s eyes scanned the room and she soon found Slip’s body in the corner. ‘Is it from him?’ she said with a head jut.

Finn nodded for fear that if he spoke now, not only would his voice break but the tears might simply spill all over again.

‘He tried to help us and got shot by them,’ Rey said for him, pointing back out into the corridor.

Karé finally relaxed and Finn glanced down at his musky clothes. He spat in his hands as an attempt to loosen the blood and wiped it off on his trousers. They were still the tatty, lucky-fitting ones, Rey gave him only a few days before, and under Poe’s jacket the same First Order vest as well as the leather boots that came along with them, which Rey had cut down to size. With everything that went on so quickly at the Resistance safe house, he hadn’t thought to change into something better.

‘Correct me if I’m wrong...’ Han said, ‘but I’ve a feeling you kids shouldn’t be here.’

‘We’re well aware we shouldn’t be here, General Solo,’ Karé said, serious. ‘But Poe insisted.’

Finn’s head snapped up instantly. Poe?’ he said. ‘Where is he?’ His heart was already in his mouth and he pushed forward towards the group. After watching… Slip die in his arms, Finn started to give up hope he might never see Poe again. If they could kill one of their own so careless, surely the First Order would not hesitate to take out someone who opposed them as Poe did.

But yet now he’d heard his name and when he turned to Jessika’s team he saw the figure, the one left out in the corridor behind them, step from out of the smoke.

‘Finn..?’ he knew that voice; it was him. ‘I-I’m here.’

It was Poe and then they were stood right in front of each other.

Finn couldn’t breathe; he’d found him again. Looking him up and down, his body involuntarily cringed after his eyes fell on the swelling bruise around Poe’s left eye. ‘Your eye..?’ he said.

‘Oh yeah. That,’ Poe said, running a hand over it. Finn observed very closely how he moved to check if he had any injuries elsewhere. But thankfully came up empty. His attire didn’t completely match that of Jessika, Karé, and the other man. Instead Poe wore a loose black shirt, thick dark trousers and a brown jacket. ‘It’s much better than it was a few hours ago, I wouldn’t worry.’

‘Yeah,’ the final unnamed man said as he swung a hand around Poe’s shoulders. ‘Our Poe is just very lucky perigen gel reacts so well on him or else we definitely wouldn’t be here.’

‘It’s really you, though,’ Finn said and the man removed his arm and stepped away. In fact, everyone seemed to leave them alone for a moment.

‘Yeah, it’s me…’ Poe said, but he didn’t sound happy somehow.

Thinking it was down to the nerves of the situation, Finn let it pass. In actuality, he felt like he couldn’t hold back any longer and motioned forward, pulling Poe into a hug. ‘I thought the worst,’ he said, whispering against his ear, for only Poe to hear because only he needed to know. ‘I’m so glad you’re okay.’

‘Yeah…’ Poe didn’t hug him back.

Finn noticed immediately and, if truth be told, he also seemed to stiffen from head to toe, and jittered slightly whenever Finn shifted against him. Finn released him and pulled back, concerned. ‘Poe, is there something—?’ he started to say.

‘Wait, that’s my jacket,’ Poe said, interrupting, eyes cast down to Finn’s chest. Finn wanted to push the issue further but Poe already appeared in a lighter mood, so he let it go again.

‘Oh sorry,’ he said and began to shake it off his shoulders.

But Poe said, ‘no!’ even pulling a part of the jacket back on him. ‘No, you should wear it and, you know what? It kind of suits you.’ Giving him one more check over, he bit his lip. ‘Keep it.’ For the first time since they’d been reunited, Poe smiled. A very faint smile, however, a smile nonetheless.

Another body abruptly joined their reunion. But they were very welcome to do so. Rey stepped up next to Finn. ‘So you’re Commander Poe Dameron?’ she said, smiling shyly.

‘Yeah, t-that’s me,’ Poe said, clearly unaware he had a reputation worth such a response.

‘Finn’s told me so much about you,’ Rey said, trying to quell her giddy nervousness. It made sense now Finn thought about; she had seemed very impressed by Poe’s work during the first Resistance and probably built up this huge vision of him in her mind since she found his note in BB-8's collar. ‘It’s very nice to finally put a face to a name. I’m Rey, by the way.’ She held out her hand.

Poe regarded it for a long second. A little too long, Finn started to think he might reject her introduction, and then finally he took the hand and shook it. ‘Nice to meet you too, Rey,’ he said. ‘I’m Poe— I mean,’ he exhaled in embarrassment, ‘drat! You already know that. Sorry... force of habit.’

Rey giggled. ‘It’s fine, really,’ she said, grinning.

Finn grinned too because Poe was smiling again, even brighter than the first time, and appearing to be finally a bit more at ease.

In the silence they all slowly became aware of Han’s impatient expression from across the room. When they looked towards him, he said, ‘you done?’

‘Yeah, sorry,’ Rey said, guilty, so Finn said, ‘sorry,’ as well to support her.

‘Alight,’ Han said, turning all the focus back to him and, more importantly, the task at hand. ‘Now that’s over. You wanna introduce the rest of your team, Captain?’

‘Of course. Finn. _Rey_ ,’ Jessika said looking directly at Rey to show she’d been paying attention. ‘My name is Captain Jessika Pava. These are my team mates, Lieutenants Karé Kun,’ she gestured a hand to Karé then moved it towards the other man, ‘and Iolo Arana.’ Finn found it strange to see her in this professional an attitude, only ever knowing her as the woman who teased and joked with Poe behind the bar. ‘And you seem to already know Commander Poe Dameron,’ she said, throwing a hand his way as well.

‘Yeah, I know him,’ Finn said, glancing at Poe and smiling when they gained eye contact.

‘Okay,’ Han said, ‘now we all know who everyone is. Onto the more important question of how you knew where to find us?’

Jessika sighed and, collecting her thoughts, prepared her explanation. ‘Long story short, General,’ she said, ‘we just got to Maz Kanata’s safe house from our rescue mission for Poe, when we found General Leia herself there, who informed us of your current plan and clarified how you completed myself and Poe’s mission by getting BB-8 to her.’

‘I can imagine they were happy to see you,’ Rey said, after a gentle elbow to Poe’s side.

For some reason Poe struggled a moment to think up an answer. ‘Hmm?’ he said, before adding after a shake of the head, ‘yeah, they were.’

‘She advised us to go in as well as potential backup,’ Jessika said, continuing. ‘Then Poe insisted we go when he found out why you’d involved Finn.’ His heart sped up at the sound of his name and its involvement with Poe. ‘So the General lent us one of her cars and we came gallivanting back here.’

‘Just in time it would seem,’ Karé said with an almost smug grin as much the situation would allow for. ‘Jess, figured you’d come looking for Poe in her old bar.’

‘Who told you about Maz’s safe house?’ Han said, direct to the point.

Jessika appeared confused. ‘No one did,’ she said.

‘So you got it through Leia’s big Resistance message then?’

‘No, the one Maz Kanata sent out on a lower frequency,’ Iolo said, explaining. ‘It’s how she finds Resistance members herself. Didn’t you know?’ He began to explain to Han’s blank expression, ‘every month Maz Kanata sends out a broadcast on a certain frequency that contains a coded message about the location of her safe house. We knew the time it would be on but kept missing the broadcast because we couldn’t find the right frequency in time.’

‘Iolo and I had to distance ourselves from Jess for awhile,’ Karé said, ‘whilst we tried to get Maz’s frequency and, once got, figure out the location of her safe house.’

Jessika looked to Poe. ‘That then gave us time to formulate a message, if anything, I guess,’ she said, although he never looked back at her.

‘Yeah,’ Poe said to his shoes.

Smiling, Han clapped a hand around Jessika’s shoulders and the sound brought Poe’s attention back up to eye level. ‘It’s nice to hear of all your hard work, kids. I think Luke would be proud,’ he said and meant it.

Poe cleared his throat. ‘Oh and we-we know about that too,’ he said. ‘That Luke Skywalker isn’t dead.’

‘Yeah, Poe’s the one who told me that,’ Finn said.

‘And then you bumped into me and told me too,’ Rey added.

Finn glanced at her and nodded.

‘Well,’ Han gave them all a serious once over and then hummed agreeing, ‘that’s another issue for another time.’ It took Finn a moment to realise why Han was so reluctance to talk about Luke or needed so much clarification over Jessika’s knowledge, when Finn remember their conversation at the Falcon’s door the previous day. Han had been out of the job for too long, it was too much handle at once. He needed time to cope with the fact his friend now remained in hiding and that people still fought for a Resistance he’d felt like giving up on in search of his old home.

Acquiescent, ‘of course,’ Poe said.

As the room grew quiet this time, everyone slowly become of a grainy rustling sound perturbing from somewhere about them. The air seemed to tense alongside everyone, fearing as well that it could be the First Order; they’d been distracted for quite awhile, catching up on each other. After a still second, everyone glanced around for its source.

Frowning, ‘what’s that noise?’ Rey said.

Finn shrugged when she turned to him.

‘It’s me,’ Han said, drawing all eyes to him and a sigh of relief from Jessika’s team. He’d pulled a small device out from one of his many jacket pockets and started to fiddle with the controls while the grainy sound became clearer.

It spoke to them. ‘ _General Solo, are... there? This is... Snap. General... come in. Our mission to assassinate... has failed. I repeat... mission to assassinate General... has failed_.’

‘Ugh! How do you work this blasted thing?’ Han said and he resorted to bashing it against his hand in the hope that might somehow make it work. It didn’t and he held it out to his friend before he broke it. ‘Chewie, can you do it?’

Chewie took the device and flipped it onto its back. He flicked a switch there and then slowly twisted the knobs until the voice sounded more and more crystal clear. Finally finished, he handed it back to Han.

‘Thank you,’ he said, sincere. After flicking the lever on the front, presumably to allow him to speak back since next he held it up to his mouth and spoke back, ‘Snap, this is Han Solo.’

‘ _General Solo_ ,’ Snap said on the other end, clearly relieved. ‘ _Thank Force. We’ve been trying to get in contact for almost half an hour now_.’

‘Yeah, we got cornered by some Officials. But we’re fine now,’ Han said, looking over everyone in the room as a silent thank you.

‘ _Our mission to assassinate General Hux has_ —’

Huffing, ‘yeah, yeah,’ Han said. ‘I heard you the first time, Snap. Don’t worry.’ Finn and Rey wondered if his impatience towards Snap was something personal or that Snap always just happened to catch Han at the wrong time in the wrong mood. However, again Snap didn’t take it too heart, so they concluded it must have been the latter.

‘Hux?’ Karé said suddenly, interest peeking. ‘Well, no wonder it failed, Hux isn’t here.’

Han must have left the speak switch on because Snap appeared to have heard her. ‘ _What? Really?’_ he said in response.

Everyone looked to Karé and she shrugged, pulling a face.

‘Yes,’ Iolo said. He put out his hand as permission to take the device from Han. Nodding, Han handed it over to him. ‘I’m talking to Snap Wexley, right?’ Iolo said, device now up to his mouth.

‘ _Correct. This is Captain Snap Wexley_.’

‘Snap, it’s Lieutenant Iolo Arana. Earlier this day, myself, Lieutenant Karé Kun, and Captain Jessika Pava rescued Commander Poe Dameron and we’d have been unable to do this, if General Hux were in the building.’

There was a pause. ‘ _Are you sure?_ ’ Snap said. Of course, the next question rose, how did their side of Resistance not know this as well?

‘Definitely,’ Iolo said. ‘See, General Hux is often accompanied by his bodyguard Kylo Ren, which means if Hux isn’t here then neither is the Sith Lord.’

Karé puffed some air into her cheeks. ‘Kylo Ren is what we were really avoiding here,’ she said, visibly disturbed at the mere mention of him. ‘I’m not going anywhere near that sick bastard.’

Finn could have sworn he felt Poe flinch at her statement from next to him, but when he glanced over Poe didn’t appear in any a different mood than before. Nonetheless, Finn chose to believe that meant something. Something he would find out more about later, giving Poe some clearly desired space for now.

‘ _Understood_ ,’ Snap said, showing he saw right now wasn’t the time to find answers about the Hux situation and the others followed suit. ‘ _In that case I opt we move to plan b then_.’

Immediately Han snatched the device back. ‘Are you sure, Snap?’ he said.

Finn leaned towards the others and asked quietly, ‘what’s plan b?’

‘If I remember correctly,’ Iolo said, quietly as well, ‘it means we blow everything up.’ Finn’s eyes instantly widened at that thought.

‘You remember correctly,’ Poe said from beside them, breaking the moment.

‘ _I’m sure, General Solo_ ,’ Snap’s voice came through the device again, ‘ _we have the explosives needed_.’

‘Understood,’ Han said, bringing the decision to a close. ‘See you topside.’

‘ _See you topside. Over and out_.’

‘Over and out,’ Han turned to the others, and frowned at their unmoving forms, ‘right, you heard him; let’s hightail out of here.’ He flicked a hand at the bar entrance.

A second later and everyone began to file out of the room.

All except Finn, who stayed exactly where he was. ‘Wait, we can’t go,’ he said, desperate.

Sarcasm on her breath, ‘oh, I seriously beg to differ, you know?’ Karé said.

‘No. I mean… I know what Snap said,’ Finn exhaled and thought of the best way to put this. ‘But… we can’t just leave all the other workers to die,’ he said plainly. ‘Any one of them could be like me and should have just as much chance for innocence as I’ve had. Leaving them to die would treat them no better than the First Order has done.’ He stared at them desperately, hoping at least one of them would agree with him.

Thankfully Jessika stepped up to the mark. ‘I agree,’ she said, walking back over to him. She looked him in the eye, serious. ‘Finn, you have mine and my team’s full support in whatever you choose to do.’

Finn nodded a thank you.

Abruptly, Iolo patted a hand on his shoulder. ‘Yep. Whatever you need, we’re here,’ he said.

‘Definitely,’ Karé said from Iolo’s side.

Next, they turned to Han for his decision on the matter.

‘Hey, all you have to do was ask, kid,’ he said from the door way, hands out wide. With that, they gathered around each other again. ‘Right, your idea,’ Han said, a point to Finn. ‘What’s our first step?’

Finn thought for a moment. ‘I know exactly who we need to find for this,’ he said.

‘Do tell,’ Karé said.

‘Her name is Captain Phasma.’

They heard her a good time before they saw her. Captain Phasma’s thick, black boots clicking away on the tough First Order metal floor meant everyone knew the exact point to get into position. Jessika and Poe had found a quiet room, waiting in there now, to sneak her into once Chewie tackled her to the ground and Iolo and Rey bound her wrists behind her back. Han, Finn, and Karé were left to keep watch in case she made her kidnapping know to any nearby officials.

Poised and ready, they waited for her to turn the final corner and find them. Phasma grunted as she hit the floor but made no attempt to struggle while her arms were bent around her back, her cape having to be ripped from her shoulders since it got in the way. Someone bound it up into a ball to hide the red and best camouflage it against the metal walls. Phasma didn’t cry out or shout for help whilst her wrists were bound together. When they got her to her feet, she wore a solemn expression and was lead away in silence, staring at Finn the whole time.

They led her into the chosen room and then shut the door behind.

Boldly Finn got right up into her space. ‘Remember who I am?’ he said.

‘FN-2187?’ Captain Phasma said, her poker face breaking for the fraction of a second.

Finn felt the empowerment bubble inside him; she was completely at his mercy, something he thought would never happen. ‘Not anymore,’ he said, giddy, revelling in the fact he could look her in the eye this time. ‘I’ve got a better name now. It’s Finn and I’m the one in charge now. No more “yes, Captain.” You hear that, Phasma? I’m in charge now! I’m in charge!’ He bobbled up and down in front of her.

Han firmly tapped his shoulder. ‘Yeah, tone it down just a little, Finn,’ he said and made a small gesture with his finger.

Reluctantly, Finn collected his excitement and nodded as a promise to get his focus onto the task at hand, instead of on mocking Captain Phasma. But he could still hear Rey giggling behind him and when he glanced towards Poe, he saw he was smiling at the ground, eyes set far away.

‘When I get out of these bonds, I’m going to break one of your ribs,’ Phasma said.

Finn regarded her for a full second and saw the sincerity behind her stern gaze. He had to give it to her; she always did manage to find a way to intimidate him. ‘We’ll see,’ he said just as serious. He flicked his blaster towards her face. ‘But first you’re gonna set off the factory alarm or we’ll… break more than your ribs.’

‘Why?’ Phasma said, eyeing the end of the barrel in monotony.

Rey brought her staff up to her throat, despite the fact Phasma stood almost a whole foot above her, even without the heels. ‘That’s none of your concern,’ she said, fiercely.

‘I figured.’ Phasma raised a perfect, blond eyebrow and stared down at her. That surprised Finn; he never thought of her as the sarcastic type. She opened her mouth to speak again and surprised him even more when she said ‘the alarm is located in basement and requires a pass code to be set off correctly.’

‘Good thing we have you then,’ Finn noted.

She moved only her eyes toward him. ‘Clearly.’

Chewie and Karé began to drag her from the room.

But Poe stepped in front of them. ‘Hold on,’ he said and then drove his fist straight into Phasma’s stomach.

Phasma merely grunted again and doubled over in pain, only held up by the hands on her arms. Some of her slick, blond hair flopped down over her face.

‘That’s for putting Finn in the Stormtrooper program,’ Poe said.

Of all the things Finn expected he would do, that certainly wasn’t one of them. He stood there frozen in astonishment as Poe stumbled back and flicked the disrupted hair away from his face, which like Phasma had fallen due the force of impact. They locked eyes and Poe said, ‘sorry, I just needed to do that.’

Finn wasn’t scared, per say; he’d seen Poe’s anger before, suffered it himself on occasion. No, he didn’t feel scared. Right now, he felt happy because Poe had done that for him, hurt someone because of him. And he wanted it. He’d set up his own mission to rescue Poe from this place, spent half the night worrying about him, devising plan after plan, considering burning the whole city to the ground if it got him back to Poe. And when he finally did, Poe had hurt a person from his past because she'd decided to send him down a dangerous path. That was what really scared him. What they were capable of doing for each other.

Soon as Phasma could stand properly, they left their current room and headed straight for this basement. Twisting and dodging past each group of officials they came across, Captain Phasma stayed quiet each time and simply let her potential allies pass on by. After resorting to more vicious methods to get the directions out of her – i.e. a blaster to the head – the basement turned out to be a small stair case that led down to a darkened room lit only by flicking machine lights.

Reds, blues, and greens flashed across Poe’s face whilst he stayed by the stairs to keep watch with Han, Jessika, and Iolo.

Chewie and Karé took Phasma up to the wall of electronics she instructed was the correct one for the alarm. Begrudgingly they needed to free her arms to allow her to actually input the right process and therefore set off the alarm, but didn’t dare let their defences down after doing so. Leaving her one handed, Chewie kept hold of one arm and Karé planted her grip on Phasma’s shoulder. Finn tried to get her to unlock all the doors first but she explained this alarm type would unlock everything to allow the First Order agents to leave the buildings quickly and safely as they could. She didn’t mention anything about the workers. Finn stood by her side blaster pointed at her head, with Rey at the other with her staff, as Phasma pushed a series of buttons, her silver glove flashing in the lights, and then, with some resistance, pulled down a large, thick lever.

The alarm pierced through the air around them. It easily made everyone jump and glance upwards.

Phasma used this as her chance. Immediately, she slammed her body against her weaker guard and succeeded in freeing herself from Chewie’s grip. Acting fast, she spun sharply and flung Karé around into Chewie, who immediately lost balance and had to move his focus away from Phasma and towards not toppling on top of Rey. Those at the stairs couldn’t make a clear shot in this lighting, which meant Finn was left to Phasma’s mercy this time.

She disarmed him with no trouble, swung under his feeble fist, and pushed him backwards against whatever surface lay behind. Then using the momentum of the fight, she shifted her leg up and brought her boot crashing across into his chest.

 _Thunk_!

A sharp pain erupted over his right lung. Finn cried out and collapsed to the ground, winded. Dazed, he heard Phasma step in front of him and saw her boots right near his peripheral vision.

‘I told you so, _Finn_ ,’ she said from above him, his name jumping from her mouth like the snapping motion performed by a biting snake. With a swift turn, the click of her boots faded towards the exit.

Finn heard another commotion as he clutched his side, grunting, and then Han’s voice spoke over the alarm.

‘Let her go, Iolo,’ he said, ‘we have far more pressing problems, like getting out of this ticking time bomb ourselves.’

Phasma’s boot clicking soon disappeared up the stairs.

A warm presence joined his side and Finn felt both happiness and disappointment when he looked up and found it to be Rey. Just Rey. She helped him very slowly to his feet and the others gathered around in concern.

All apart from Poe, who he saw remained by the stairs, gaze focused intently up them, the blaster in his hands choking under his grip.

‘Are you okay, Finn?’ Jessika said, her voice bringing him back to the majority of the group.

He shifted merely an inch and pain stabbed his chest. ‘I… think she got me,’ he said, breathless.

‘Slippery, giant-arse bitch,’ Karé spat. ‘But at least she did the alarm.’ That was something to be kept in mind. She walked forward and immediately drove the blunt end of her blaster into that thick grey lever to prevent any First Order officials coming back down here and switching it off after they were gone.

‘Let’s get you out of here,’ Han said to Finn, expression tender.

‘Let’s get all of us out of here,’ Poe said from the stairs, still not looking in Finn’s direction.

‘How so?’

Jessika looked up from reloading her blaster. ‘Well, if we head to their underground hanger,’ she said, ‘we can steal a First Order car and use it to get out of the explosion radius in time. I thought of taking one for when we rescued Poe, but then we found other means of getting inside.’

Finn hadn’t even been aware the First Order put an underground hanger in the factory, but he realised that seemed to be the case with a lot of things within these last few days. A thought struck him that maybe it could be where they stored the trucks that transported the durasteel out from the factory. Since he only ever saw the timetables, he’d have to wait and see.

For a moment, it came to him about how she could know such details of the factory but then he remembered, of course, her and Poe had spent weeks mapping it out for the Resistance. ‘Everyone’s evacuating because of the alarm; the place should be disserted by the time we're there,’ Jessika said.

Han nodded. ‘Okay, let’s go with that.’

Once they were up the stairs and in the main area again, Jessika and Poe moved to the front and firmly led the way. Since the movement of his legs shifted the weight over his ribs, walking became a two person job for Finn as Iolo and Karé took turns supporting him forward. Finn appreciated the help of course; they needed it to keep him quiet enough in avoiding detection. But he also hated the fact it allowed Poe to be as far away from him as he wanted right now. And there appeared to not be much Finn could do about it in the mean time.

Any officials they came across meant a quick dash for cover but the First Order agents were too preoccupied with what the alarm meant to bother seeking out current imposters. In fact after a certain distance the officials appeared no more, like they’d run out or something. Finn took it as a good sign because it meant the alarm was working in getting people out and away from the coming explosion.

The pain had a good way of consuming his mind, so the next thing he knew they were heading through a section of the factory he’d definitely never been before. This must have been the way to the hanger, he thought, and then agonizingly Jessika led them towards a dip in the ceiling.

Finn stared down the three long rows of descending stairs and contemplated how much time and how much pain it would take to get down them.

However, before he even had the chance to attempt going down, Chewie walked straight up and held out his arms in permission. Finn nodded and Chewie carefully picked him up bridal style and started to carry him down the stairs.

Half way down the first row of steps, ‘you are a very strong man,’ Finn said in his arms.

Chewie grunted something and looked to Rey, toddling along side, to translate.

She took a moment to stop giggling and said, grinning, ‘he said it’s because… _he eats his greens_.’

Chewie immediately grunted again a little louder and Rey followed it with, ‘well I can’t tell him what you really said, he might not get it.’

‘Get what?’ Finn said, not liking the idea of being left out on this joke, although that didn’t stop the laughter from bubbling in his throat. He always found it rather contagious, much to the distaste of the other workers, who had often given him odd looks when he started to laugh at their jokes despite never hearing them fully.

Chewie and Rey exchanged another look and then Rey burst out laughing again.

‘He said he fucks a lot that’s how he stays fit,’ Poe said from the other side of Chewie. ‘It’s very wookiee humour.’ Finn couldn’t see him because his legs were in the way, but he watched that space while the mood died down and Poe didn’t disappear from beside him until they reached the bottom of the stairs.

Down here, the room stretched out wide and tall.

And from one end to the other, it was almost completely bare. Besides a medium-sized silver ship resting on the ground a few good yards away from them.

‘What the fuck? Where is everything?’ Han said, his low voice bouncing off the exposed walls. He turned to Jessika and her team, gesturing with his hand while he racked his brain for right information. ‘Isn’t there meant to be… four or five trucks set for shipment in the next few days?’

However, they appeared just as confused as him.

‘The First Order could have sent them out earlier or something,’ Rey said, lightly suggesting.

‘No, the first truck wasn’t meant to go out until the end of this week.’

‘Whatever the reason,’ Iolo said, ‘we still have a way out, regardless.’

Karé patted his shoulder. ‘Yeah,’ she said, although they didn’t need to say it, for something to not feel right about this.

While the others settled with this new arrangement, Chewie placed Finn back down on the ground but he miscalculated the angle of moving off from Chewie's arms and when he straightened up, greatly shifted the broken rib inside him. Blinded by the pain, Finn reached out for the nearest person and happened to grab hold of Poe’s jacket. He went to let go but Poe caught his eye and sighed.

Finally, he seemed to break this avoidance of him and, acting quick, stepped into Finn’s space, slipping his arm around Finn’s waist and pulling Finn’s arm over his shoulders.

‘Are you okay?’ Poe said to their feet, so quiet he nearly missed it.

Finn found the hand on his waist and squeezed it gently. ‘I’m not,’ he said, simply. ‘Thank you.’

Poe said nothing, but did squeeze his hand back.

With their destination clear in mind, they walked across the hanger. Everyone gathered under the hull of the ship and gazed up at it.

‘You need a pilot,’ Poe said.

‘We need a pilot,’ Finn said but it didn’t make Poe look at him. It felt nice to be against his side nonetheless, it felt similar to when they used to dance.

Rey huffed abruptly from the side of the group. ‘We also have two very good pilots over here, thank you very much,’ she said, interjecting with her hands on her hips.

‘Yeah, and I’m not half bad too,’ Jessika said, light hearted and less serious. She exchanged a smile with Karé and Iolo to signal they understood the joke.

Sighing, Han walked forward and slammed his fist against a large button on the side. The loading ramp descended in front of them.

‘Great,’ Poe said. ‘Because this ship actually needs to be flown by four.’

‘That’s crazy,’ Finn said and they began to make their way on board. ‘How are you supposed to get this thing off the ground?’

Jessika moved to his side. ‘Well it means it would require a team to steal it, if that helps?’ she said and Finn pulled a face because that did make sense.

On board, everyone spread out and Poe took Finn before the cockpit. There, he began to help him into a chair attached to the side. Finn understood why he’d chosen this chair as Poe strapped him in; lots of support for his broken rib during the flight. The others were distracted for a moment with scoping out the ship for possible guards or starting up the engine, so when Poe went to leave him, Finn grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

Like he hoped, Poe remembered the gesture from the night he burnt his arm. But the face that looked at him this time welled up with anguish. Finn couldn’t help but mirror the expression, unable to stop his emotions, and then Poe leaned forward.

He rested their foreheads together and exhaled, letting the air settle between them.

‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered.

And then he was gone before Finn had a chance to ask what for.

He watched the rest of group set up the ship. Poe joined Karé, Iolo, and Rey at the pilot’s seats as they flicked on the various switches and pushed the right buttons that would start up the engine. A low rumble soon burst through the floor and walls around him to indicate their efforts worked. Eventually Han, Chewie, and Jessika emerged from the lower decks of the ship.

Han walked with firm steps up to the cockpit. ‘This is too basic for one of Hux’s private ships, so what is it?’ he said.

‘Well, with the audio system set up here,’ Iolo pointed to part of the controls in front of him, ‘to talk to the compartment down below… and the duel engines pipes, we just warmed up, that are clearly designed for extra speed and therefore early arrival…’ he said, trying to delay the inevitable conclusion. ‘From the looks of things here…’ _sigh_ , ‘it must be Stormtrooper transporter ship.’

They all understood perfectly what this could imply and then Jessika said it, ‘if that’s so and this ship is still here. That means there’s still Stormtroopers out there.’

Even the ship seemed to tense beside them, the sound of metal creaking next to metal as if it physically expanded with breath.

‘Maybe we’re lucky; maybe they’re patrolling through the city,’ Rey said, glancing out the main cockpit view point. ‘Trying to find us there. And not here.’

‘Well they aren’t here now and neither should we be,’ Han said his voice acting as an anchor for everyone as he took the action to move them forward. ‘That’s all that matters.’ He looked to their pilots. ‘Poe, you got the ship set up?’

Poe gave one more quick glance over the lit up controls desk. ‘We’re ready, yeah,’ he said.

‘Right. Everyone, get strapped in,’ Han said.

Rey gave Finn a final look before she turned away and took her place between Poe and Karé in the pilot’s seats. One look was all they had to say what they needed right now. He had to admit to himself he did try to smile at her but the mood seemed to cancel the gesture on his lips. Maybe he could catch her eye again and give it another try. Then Han took the seat opposite him and that called Finn’s attention otherly.

Han nodded when he met Finn’s eye whilst Jessika set herself down next to him. Chewie roared abruptly from the side of Han to signal everyone had taken a seat and so the pilots slid into their own little world as they began their take off. Each had their own set of control sticks and, as Finn observed, they simultaneously balanced the motion of the craft in a joint effort. He wondered how three friends and one stranger could suddenly unite under a single task almost effortlessly but soon noted, perhaps, they found the task of controlling a ship just like second nature to them that such a problem didn’t even cross their minds.

The rumbles under Finn’s feet and back intensified and soon it felt like the floor wanted to push up against him. He glanced over in time to watch the view from the cockpit window fall away.

Gaining air by the second, they then hovered for a long while. Until the ship reached as high as it could and, from there, they raced forward towards presumably the exit of the hanger. They didn’t travel far. At first Finn thought they were headed towards darkness but in the distance a structure against the wall became clearer and he could make out the outline of a large door. Upon approaching it, the lights surrounding the door changed colour, followed next by the shutter structure starting to slide open of its own accord.

‘I bet the First Order are gonna regret investing in so much “handless” sensor-technology,’ Iolo said whilst they flew through the expanding gap, ‘when they find out it helped us escape this place with one of their own ships.’

‘I agree with you there, Iolo,’ Karé said and they exchanged a smug smirk across the cockpit, hands remaining on the control sticks before them.

Their ship emerged from the factory and into the crisp night sky. The moonlight burst into cockpit, spreading out across the floor like silky blue milk. Gently they grew in even more height out here and upon turning, therefore tilting the ship, Finn got a small glimpse at the ground below from one of the side windows. He saw the thousands of workers as they scurried from the factory exits like ants and other insects. A small smile tugged at his lips for his plan had worked.

Abruptly Han’s talking device rumbled from his side. ‘ _General Solo_ ,’ Snap said on the other side. ‘ _Are you there?! General, please come in_!’ He sounded desperate and almost scared, shouting down the microphone.

Han plucked the device from his belt and brought it to his lips. ‘Snap, it’s Han,’ he said. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘ _We’re… I repeat, we’re trapped_ ,’ Snap said, his voice began to crackle. ‘ _Please… -elp. Our ride got stolen. We need an evac immediately. Anything will… Please tell me you have some..-ing, General_.’

Han threw around a relieved grin with Chewie and Finn, although Finn failed to return the gesture in time before Han’s eyes moved away. ‘The Force seems to be on your side,’ Han said. ‘We found a ship. Light a flare, Snap, we’re coming to you.’ He turned to the pilots, ‘did you get that?’

‘Got it,’ Poe called back.

‘ _Understood_ ,’ Snap said, sharply.

Then a few moments later, ‘ _flare lit_.’

The swirling flurry of workers disappeared from view as the ship tilted back upright and dived down in search for the flare.

‘Where is it? I can’t see it,’ Karé said, her head darting from side to side, eyes presumably scanning the ground below.

‘There,’ Rey said with a harsh point. ‘Poe, hurry.’

‘I’m hurrying,’ he said through gritted teeth.

The ship dove lower and Finn caught sight of a red scar soaring upwards through the main viewing point in front of Poe, Rey, Karé and Iolo. The light of which momentarily illuminated their faces in the dim cockpit before it became replaced by the raging yellow and orange flame engulfing the nearest factory building. They stared in confusion from the blaze: the entire factory section completely smothered, meaning it had been going for some while. The fire was not impossible since Finn remembered that building as the one to contain the hot ovens and stoves used for melting the sturdy durasteel. Clearly, the night sky must have managed to mask the smoke from their vision until they tilted the ship downwards, assuming previously the light from the flame came from merely the nature city glow or the moon.

‘Someone must have gotten smart,’ Han said unstrapping himself and making for the loading ramp activation button, ‘and set off that fire to distract the officials while everyone got away.’

The wind immediately rushed in and made any loose straps on the seats nearby snap about. The slap of metal on metal mixed together into the whirl of the wind that played with Han’s hair and jacket while he firmly gripped the side handle, watching the ship hover lower and lower. He spotted Snap and his team in the distant smoky gloom of the factory complex and shouted his name.

The closest figure in the group turned sharply towards him and then, through the bellows of black smoke, they all began to rush towards him. Poe and his fellow pilots got the ship low enough for Snap and his team to jump on board. The ramp was already descending back up again as the pilots took the ship skyward to fly quickly away from the fire.

Snap patted a firm hand on Han’s shoulder. ‘Thank you so much, General,’ he said.

Han nodded but didn’t comment on the gesture.

Finn watched the team he’d seen earlier, eager and geared for a mission, approach the remaining seats of the ship with soot stained clothes and shaggy hair. After awhile, he realised that one of the members had a large burn running down the side of their face. He slumped down into the corner with two other members, a clumsy bundle of cloth pressed to the wound. Finn wanted to get up and start searching the ship for an aid package or something. But he merely needed to move his waist a small fraction and pain bleed out across his chest. A fall on a ship like this was not something he could afford right now, unfortunately.

However, Snap seemed to rise to the challenge and disappeared down to the lower belly of the ship, after declaring to the three in the corner he would get something to help the burn. He emerged and a few moments later, it happened.

The explosion itself was silent. Or it wasn’t but the sound only reached them when the shockwave did, leaving everyone with no warning. The ship moved very slightly at first to the push and then it shock violently. Several alarms flashed around the pilots. Karé said Poe’s name and he responded with a gritted, ‘I know.’

‘What in the Force is happening?’ Snap said, diving for the nearest seat and not wasting a second to strap himself in.

‘The aftershock of the explosion,’ Iolo said, strained, ‘it’s hit us.’

‘We _clearly_ weren’t far away enough,’ Karé added.

‘Everybody strap in!’ Poe said, order loud.

The two women and the boy with the burn in the corner pulled down the straps from behind them and Snap’s final team member took her place on the seat other side to Finn.

Even though it would make no difference, Finn gripped the straps around his shoulders. The adrenaline pulsated through his system as he watched the pilots battle the turbulence around them. The ship didn’t fail suddenly, but instead he could feel the floor descending slowly whilst the seconds ticked by.

‘Oh no,’ he heard Poe said in a quiet pause between the various ship alarms.

Abruptly the ship’s sinking grew in strength and the violent shaking returned. Both worked in tangent together and increased along with the other. So soon Finn couldn’t tell if the ship were even moving at all, his body consumed by the vibrations.

‘You need to take it down, Poe!’ Jessika said.

He vaguely heard Poe say ‘brace for impact..!’ and that was the last thing Finn heard before he blacked out.

¬

When Rey opened her eyes, she couldn’t feel her hands. They buzzed and fizzed as she attempted to move her fingers in the early stages of waking up. Her body felt cloudy and distant, her vision dark; she tried to remember where she was. Her body hung forward over a structure, not how she would normally wake up. The present came back in waves. She remembered flying over a fountain in the city, no she remembered crashing down towards it, they had crash landed the stolen First Order ship. Rey could also hear someone else’s voice.

From somewhere behind her, someone said calmly, ‘I’m really sure I’m fine, Poe. I promise.’

Other sounds reached her ears now, the unclipping of metal locks and tugs on the shiny fabric of seat straps. In the gloom around her, Rey could just about make the consoles stretching out above and in front, the lights on which were dark. Abruptly she realised why her fingers were numb when she leaned back and looked down to find them each encased around a control flight stick. After a moment of willing control back to her body, she slowly uncurled her hands.

‘I tried to land it as softly I could, I swear?’ another voice from behind said. ‘But… it’s not easy.’

‘I know you did,’ the first replied, sincere.

The clicks and tugs continued and finally Rey recognised who had been talking.

‘You’re gonna be okay,’ Poe said, ‘I’m going to make sure of it this time. I’m gonna get you out of here and then you’re going to help me get Rey out of her chair, since until she wakes up it’s a two person job. And then Han will return and get us out of the city.’

‘I’m awake...’ Rey said, pushing her voice from her mouth felt like pouring syrup into a thin-necked bottle. Thankfully it appeared to be enough for them to hear her.

‘Okay, Rey, hold on. We’ll be right with you,’ Poe called back to her. Commander Poe Dameron, the man who turned out to be much more sorrowful than she ever envisioned, and had a beard.

A few more clicks later, and eventually she could hear Poe and Finn make their way over to her, knowing their locations from how their shoes clunked on the hollow metal floor. Poe emerged to her left, blocking the view of his flight chair, and Finn appeared behind over her other shoulder.

‘You okay to do this?’ Poe said, his face full of concern, and his hand lifted towards him, probably without his knowledge, poised and ready to catch his balance if need be.

‘Yeah,’ Finn said but his voice still sounded breathless. ‘If I just lean here I should be fine.’

Poe nodded, leaving it at that. Together, they began to undo Rey’s seat straps. She’d wondered why they believed it such a different task to perform since the safety strap themselves had not been difficult to put on in the first place. However, now close up, Rey saw that the crash down must have jammed the locks into each other, for she tried one on her own and didn’t quite manage to get it open with her young strength.

Leaving the boys to it, Rey focused on her surrounding, becoming gradually clearer, and she noticed they were the only ones left on the ship. ‘Where is everyone?’ she said.

‘We thought it best if Jess, Iolo, and Karé took Cody back along with the rest of Snap and his team before his wound got any worse,’ Poe said. He yanked out the strap by her left hip and moved to the last one on this side by her leg. ‘Han and Chewie went to retrieve the Falcon, Rey.’

A small part of her felt ashamed to have thought they’d abandoned them, but admittedly in some way they still had. Surely it didn’t require so many people to take one boy with a burnt face to safety.

Suddenly a cold shiver befell Rey’s entire body as if someone had blown frozen wind in her exact direction. ‘Finn.’ She grasped his nearest hand, the one undoing the strap against her rib cage. Both men paused their work and looked at her. ‘Someone…’ she said and struggled to think of the right word, ‘ _something_ is coming.’

‘What do you mean?’ Poe said instantly.

Rey thought for a second. ‘It’s hard to explain and you wouldn’t believe me,’ she said. ‘But I can feel it.’ The same danger she felt after watching Devi and Struck be taken by Stormtroopers.

That seemed to re-spark something in Finn and he returned to undoing her seat buckles. He finished the one against her rib and moved to another one on her thigh.

Poe on the other hand continued to stare at her and she stared back until he quietly said in realisation, ‘you’re a Jedi…’

Finn frowned while he worked. ‘A-what?’

Unlike him, Rey knew exactly what Poe meant and, even though initially she rejected the idea, it did seem to align all her thoughts about these strange new senses with the Force and that vision she had in Maz’s safe house basement. In this moment, Maz’s words returned to her, ‘ _it’s a lightsaber_ … _It called to you, I know_.’ Lightsabers were weapons of the Jedi, she remembered now. ‘ _I never became a Jedi Master_ … _but that does not stop me from knowing the Force_.’ Rey understood now.

It could be felt by pretty much anyone but to truly be one with the Force and become affected by its nature, Rey knew she needed to be a Jedi or a Sith. Obviously she was not a Sith for the whole nation knew they were regarded with the highest purity. People said things such as the blood line had become so thin the number of true Sith Lords in the world could be counted on both hands.

Jedi, however, were deemed less pure, corrupted even. The First Order hunted Jedi, she’d seen that first hand, and if caught, demanded their service or they would be put to death. Although, they usually killed them out right as an example to anyone else thinking of aiding this ethnic group.

People like the First Order were hateful and they only needed to find someone to push it down on to cause a lot of harm. Rey knew of that harm.

She wanted to question Poe more but another wave befell her and this time it stung, like little bugs digging their stingers in all the way down her back. She twitched. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said suddenly. ‘Whatever that thing is, it’s here.’

They turned as much as any of them could towards the open rear end of the ship and gaped out into the scene of debris mixed with fire and metal. Evidently, the ship had managed to only the skim the nearby buildings, hitting the ground at the start of the square and upturning everything in its path as it came to a terrible stop at the other end. The crash’s damage path had actually curved from Poe’s instruction as an attempt to get it to stop faster, leaving all the destruction to their left.

From the darkness of the street, across from what was left of the fountain structure they’d crashed into, stepped a darkly cloaked and masked figure. Kylo Ren, illuminated only by the light of his red crossed lightsaber, scanned the scenery.

Overcome with fear and panic, Poe and Finn quickly got back to work, this time Rey joining them just to get it finished a little sooner.

‘Finn, get that undone faster, come on,’ Poe said, done on his side.

All that remained was the other shoulder strap around the top of her arm on Finn’s side.

‘I’m trying as quickly as I can, okay?’ he said, defensively, fingers beginning to fumble over the metal because of anew panic.

‘I’m sorry,’ Poe said and he paused a moment to swallow his bubbling anger. Right now, it would do no good. ‘I just…’

But more cold Force waves overcame her body and mind; she knew exactly what they meant. ‘Guys, he’s seen us; he’s coming over here,’ Rey said as warning.

Again, they all turned to watch the masked figure march across the untouched side of the ruined city square. A thick belt secured the black robes he wore over his slender body, such low of a shade it appeared unnatural, like it could suck the light from any source which ventured too near. His walk was that of man determined to prove something to anyone whose eyes fell on him. What he wanted to prove, Rey didn’t know for sure.

‘Shit,’ Finn said and, ignoring his bad rib, resorted to yanking the final strap with all his might.

But, abruptly, from somewhere atop the ship, Han’s voice rung out through the air. ‘Ben!’ he said, a shout at the top of his lungs.

Kylo Ren stilled his march. ‘Han Solo,’ he said, quietening his lightsaber and attaching it to his belt. ‘I’ve waited for this day for a long time.’

Frozen, Finn and Rey looked to each other in confusion. Without words, they seemed to ask each other the same question, _why had Han called him that?_ A simultaneous glance to Poe showed he already knew, but should they ask him?

Han reappeared then, jumping down from the side of the ship. A roar from above indicated Chewie was with him. Han glanced up back to him and mumbled something about being okay and how he’d landed fine, before he readjusted his jacket in a nervous shuffle and made his way carefully over to the looming Sith Lord.

In silence, Poe, Finn, and Rey watched him approach.

‘Take off that mask, we both know you don’t need it,’ they just about heard Han say; his voice muffled by the wind and dampened by his position away from them.

‘Why?’ Kylo said, his robotic voice coming through loud and clear. ‘What are you trying to see, if I do?’

‘The face of…’ Han said, the wind carrying away those last few words.

But, with a visible sign, the Sith Lord began to do as he was told. A small click and the mouth piece slid upwards, allowing him to take it over his skull.

Rey couldn’t believe what she saw under that mask. She didn’t know what she’d expected instead but it certainly had not been this. Kylo Ren was just a boy. He wasn’t ugly in any typical way or even particularly vicious-looking. He possessed pale pink skin and a large bustle of black hair over the back of his head. Hard to tell from the distance, but it appeared several freckles dotted the skin around his forehead and cheeks. The only thing that gave away the evil contained in this man were his eyes. Even from where she sat, locked in her pilot chair, Rey could see how they burned with not only fury but fear. Fear, above all else.

Immediately his face twisted with disgusted as he spoke his next words. However, by now they stood so far away and without his mask to magnify his speech, neither Rey, Finn, nor Poe could hear him. Then Han stepped closer and they could no longer hear him anymore as well.

Not needing to be told twice, Finn and Rey used Han’s distraction to their advantage and returned to tackling the final strap across Rey’s shoulder. Poe, on the other hand, remained still, gaze fixed on the talking figures in the distance.

Eventually their attention became drawn outward suddenly by a sharp crash, which, looking up, revealed to be the sound of Kylo’s mask dropping down and colliding with some metal debris stuck out from the ground. This last strap being a tenacious task meant Rey was still stuck in her seat but her and Finn’s efforts faltered after they saw the anguish twisted in the Sith Lord’s features.

Rey didn’t think him possible of an emotion like that. Kylo unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and held it loosely in his hands for a second, before glancing at Han and then moving it out towards him. His eye returned to stare down at the ancient weapon until Han’s wan hand came up and grasped the space left between Kylo’s fingers.

He seemed to find what he was looking for. Kylo raised his gaze towards Han. Smoke from fires caused by the crash bellowed about the street square. Rey held her breath, what were they waiting for?

Silence.

Suddenly a red flash stung against Rey’s eyes as Kylo ignited his lightsaber and sent it piercing through Han’s back.

Rey’s body went numb and she screamed at the top of her lungs, ‘no!’ Next to her, Finn jumped backwards and immediately reached to grab Poe’s jacket. Above them, Chewie roared in a way she’d never heard before. Over the country and outside the city, Rey felt the anguish of another suddenly over come with a feeling they’d been dreading for a very long time.

They watched in horror. Han staggered back a step from the force of the blow. Slowly he raised a hand up to Kylo’s face, covering the palm over his cheek.

And then he was gone. Kylo pulled away and Han’s lifeless body tumbled to the ground.

The anger and fear surged through her like one force and Rey seized the final strap on her shoulder, ripping it off in one pull. She darted from her chair and towards the ships the open end.

Another flash of red. Chewie fired his crossbow blaster from above them and hit Kylo directly on his left side. Kylo crouched down in pain, clutching across his stomach.

She emerged from the ship running and carried on until she couldn’t get any closer to Han’s limp body.

Smoke rose gently from the wound in the middle of his chest. A glint caught Rey’s eye and she spotted Luke’s lightsaber lying on the ground near Han’s hand. He’d been carrying it on him. Maybe ever since Rey found it in Maz’s basement. Perhaps he’d planned to give it to her, to have another chance at learning about her newly discovered culture.

Finally Finn and Poe caught up and came waddling to her side.

She didn’t even realise she was crying until the tears slid down her cheeks. ‘You monster!’ she said, declaring that while looking him dead in the eye.

Straightening up, Kylo suddenly threw his hand up towards her and using the Force sent Rey flying violently to the side with a scream. A slab of upturned street broke her path. Dropped there, she collided with the ground and went down onto her hands and knees.

Her head snapped up quickly to find Finn had made a move towards her but had been stopped by the broken rib in his chest. He met her eye, shocked expression on his face, and she nodded to let him know she remained relatively unharmed.

With that Finn turned his anger towards the Sith Lord.

‘Traitor!’ Kylo Ren screeched into the smoky city square, screeched over Han Solo’s dead body. He directed his burning cross lightsaber at Finn. ‘We gave you a life, we gave you a purpose, and you threw it away.’

‘I didn’t want it. And I never will,’ Finn said, shoulders straight.

‘Fine,’ Kylo said, his posture retreating, a decision made. ‘Then there’s only one thing left to do. You owe us that life back.’

Finn stared the Sith Lord down, unafraid to meet his eye. ‘Come and get it,’ he said.

‘No,’ Poe said, immediately putting himself in front of Finn, whose aggressive stance then changed to one of confusion. ‘Please, don’t hurt him. Don’t make me see that again. _Please_.’

Kylo almost laughed. ‘You think you have a say in the matter?’ he said. Oddly he began to bash at his left side with his fist for a firm second, right where Chewie had wounded him.

Rey glanced at the top of their ship, since now she could see it from this angle, but Chewie was nowhere to be seen.

Luke’s lightsaber glinted from the fires once more and finally caught Kylo’s eye. He quietened his own saber and put it away. ‘I’ll do it with my grandfather’s lightsaber even. Yes, that’ll be fitting.’ He reached his fingers out towards it and they constricted with the effort. ‘Just need… to bring it… here.’ When nothing happened, Kylo exhaled and pulsated his hand once more in frustration.

In a brief second of unthinking, Rey got to her feet and did the same.

Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber wobbled feebly on the ground, vibrating more and more while the seconds ticked by, before shooting up in the air towards Kylo’s fingers.

And then past them.

Rey seemed as shocked as everyone when the saber landed in her outstretched hand. Finn appeared impressed and Poe looked proud and concerned for her safety at the same time.

Kylo glared at her like he saw the answer to an unwanted question.

Now she had Luke’s lightsaber, she did with it what she knew she had to. Rey raised it up to her side and, placing her other hand over the first, ignited the saber. She walked back out to the space between the Sith Lord and Poe and Finn. ‘You want them?’ she said defiant and ready to attack. ‘You’ll have to get through me first.’

Kylo reignited his weapon and twirled it at his side.

Unable to wait for him to attack first, Rey raised the saber directly towards him and charged. Backing away over the cobbled street floor, Kylo slashed away her first strike and then her next. Blue and red danced about the stone space.

‘Rey!’ she heard Finn call her name from behind and briefly glanced to see Poe now held him back in both arms.

Rey brought the saber crashing towards Kylo but he dashed out the way in time, letting it hit a piece of debris and slice hotly through it.

‘No, Finn, don’t,’ Poe said to a face that wasn’t looking at him. ‘Don’t go to him.’

Kylo struck back at last and Rey just about caught and threw away several blows aimed towards her legs and upper body.

Finn shot Poe a look to say _I can handle myself_. However, when he saw Poe’s face, the fear set into his eyes made him freeze, allowing Rey to leave them behind.

‘Don’t let him hurt you, please,’ Poe said, begging. They said more to each other but by now Rey could no longer hear them.

She fired another strike at Kylo Ren similar to her first, but he pushed it away once more. Kylo sliced at her and she twirled back away. They kept next to the damage path and Rey quickly realised Kylo was using it in hopes of diverting her attack into some upturned stone or metal and getting her saber caught in them. Her fighting technique lacked Kylo’s finesse since it came from drawn out years of using her staff in clumsy defence. So she spent most of her time running from the Sith Lord rather than engaging him.

Gradually they made their way to the front of the city square, sabers now crashing with the brick walls when strikes were diverted or they missed each other. Neither stopped moving or fighting. Soon, they found themselves coming through an alleyway, Rey ever backing away and Kylo ever advancing. Until finally Rey turned her back on him completely and, silencing her saber, darted for a nearby dustbin. Using her experience in the streets she got on top of it in one swift step, leaving Kylo to slash at the base of the metal case in anger.

Rey ran across the lid and onto the next bin. She kept her feet to the edges to stop them caving in the middle. At the end, she jumped off and hit the ground in a roll, Kylo not far behind. She ignited Luke’s saber again in time to deflect a strike and then retaliated with a one of her own that landed inches away from his shoulder.

Located in the middle of this new city square was a stepped structure that led onto the typical display of patriotic statues encircled around another fountain. Rey ignored Kylo for a moment and made for the steps. But he caught her half way up and for a moment she thought he might not attack in this position.

And then her brain processed the raise of his lightsaber and her body reacted. They clashed and ascended the stairs at the same time. One strike almost sent Rey tripping over her own feet on the uneven ground. It did not help Kylo stood a whole head above her, his strength and technique greater than hers; if not for the injury, he would easily outmatch her ten to one. Therefore, the same pattern proceeded as before, Rey would deflect a strike from Kylo and then ran away a few steps before he could strike another.

Rey tripped on the last step at the top and almost sealed her fate with a fall. Up here, Kylo managed to corner her quickly towards the edge with a large statue to her right to cut off her escape. He stabbed at her, full-bodied, and Rey tried to divert the strike away to her right. However, unlike all the times before, Kylo withdrew his saber and Rey’s, caught in the lock, got pulled along with it. Twisting the lightsaber under his hands, he manoeuvred it to his advantage and shoved the lock back against Rey.

With a shriek she took the vicious embrace, sure if he weren’t already wounded he could easily crush her under his weight. The stone platform edge had snuck up behind her and before she knew she couldn’t step back any further. Rey glanced over her shoulder and down at the water pooled underneath her feet. It flowed from the centre fountain, creating another water decoration at the sides of the platform to spread out into raised bowls. Here, Kylo forced the cross of sabers down towards Rey’s face.

She let out a whimper, holding the blade high above her head, as the sparks fell from Kylo’s saber. Now so close up, she could take note of just how messy and crinkly it was compared to Luke’s. The Skywalker blue blade stood strong and clean, pushing back against Kylo’s with all the strength Rey could muster, whereas the Sith Lord’s blade, thinner and stringy, jumped and prickled with skinny streaks of electric static, clearly unstable.

Rey tensed her upper body as the blade cross drew closer to her face.

‘I don’t want to kill you, Rey!’ Kylo said suddenly, catching her off guard for a second.

Disgusted at the thought her life were nearly in his hands, ‘you don’t?’ she said. He really possessed the audacity to preach to her at a time like this, in the situation they were in?

‘You need a teacher!’ Kylo said, his eyes aglow with madness. ‘You are merely a child! But I could help you unlock your true potential; I can teach the ways of the Force!’

‘The Force..?’ she said and the sound echoed through her mind. She’d been so caught in her defensive instincts, she hadn’t thought of it. Again, Maz’s words in the safe house basement came to her, ‘ _it connects every living thing. Close your eyes and you can feel it guiding you_.’

Rey closed her eyes and breathed. Locking her muscles she channelled out Kylo Ren, she channelled out where she was. She counted her breaths and focused on the feelings deep inside. She found the warmth nestled in her heart like it had been there her whole life long. Her body tensed at the potential inside, desperate to retreat to the cold. Many risks and possible broken promises lay ahead on that path. But also life and love and power. One could not exist without the other and the time called for her to make the choice. So she adapted like she always did and finally let it wash over her without resistance. The warmth of the Force spread through her soul and Rey opened her eyes, determined.

Kylo frowned.

But Rey didn’t let the expression settle into his features for long, before she bent her knees and darted from their embrace. With the Force to guide her, Rey twirled away from the corner and struck at Kylo, once, twice, several focused strikes one after the other until her saber caught Kylo along the knee.

Dark cloak singed with light, he collapsed down with a grunt and Rey watched him stumbled up to his feet again. He threw a wild strike in her direction but she stepped away with ease and then stabbed her saber right into his shoulder. A circle of light burned into his clothes and skin.

Rey pursued him, now the predator, as he backed away to the fountain. She raised Luke’s lightsaber above her head and brought it crashing down so hard Kylo only managed to divert the strike in time and it meant he failed to stop her kicking him over onto his back. She stalked around him, angry and lethal. Teeth bared and panting, Rey felt the darkness pulse inside; she had him and she could end all with one more strike. But despite the rush, Rey recoiled from the feeling for something about it didn’t seem right.

Gradually Kylo Ren got up again, a painful grunt on his lips. Rey took it as her chance. She kicked his arm, threw a slice at his hand and knocked his lightsaber from his grasp. Unarmed, she drew her saber upwards and struck him.

Kylo fell back from the force of the blow and landed straight into the fountain, water smashing. Only then could she see the full effect of her attack. The saber had cut him in a line right from the tip of his left shoulder up to his forehead, splitting open his robes. The wound so hot it already smoked from the evaporated fountain water.

Abruptly the ground began to rumble and shake under them. Rey glanced about in confusion and then up at the sky. A plane flew over heard. From its belly it released a tear drop shaped object. The bomb landed on the far side of the square but still managed to send Rey flying. Separated from Kylo Ren and the freshly shattered fountain, she saw now the fight was over. Using it to her advantage, Rey quieted Luke’s lightsaber and darted from the scene.

More planes appeared with the first, probably here to seek out the escaping workers. She ran all the way back to their ship and found Poe and Finn kneeling by Han’s lifeless body. Rey joined them in silence. Breathless, she sunk down next to Finn and the tears spilled from her eyes in no time at all. She put the lightsaber back on his chest and squeezed her hand around the leather jacket underneath. She looked at the dead face of the man she just met and she’d already begun to adore like he were her own father. The chill of the night grew soft around them while more bombs fell in the distance.

But suddenly a bright light illuminated the ground and Rey looked up on the sound of a horn.

It was Chewie at the helm of the Millennium falcon. After he shot Kylo Ren, he must have gone to retrieve it, as he and Han first intended to. The engine left on, Chewie raced off the bus and ran over to sweep Han into his arms, beckoning the others on board. After she briskly went to reclaim her staff from the fallen ship, Poe fell back to help Finn into one of the first seats they could find and Rey travelled on to the front, jumping in the driver’s seat whilst Chewie put Han down somewhere; they needed to get out here quickly, before those planes circled back around.

She just drove _away_ from where they’d been for a while until Chewie returned to give her directions out of the city. Even so soon, she heard the sorrow and lost in his voice. Only when she saw the green field that stretched out for miles and miles did she finally breathe a sigh of relief. But perhaps the price to pay for this peace had been too great. All things considered, it certainly seemed that way. After a while she let Chewie take over since he clearly needed something else to take his mind off his good friend’s death.

Hours passed and they got back to the safe house in no time longer than usual. Unable to reach the barn because of the crowds of resistance workers moving about with crates and bags, Chewie was forced to park the Falcon by the yard entrance. Engine stopped, Rey turned to see Poe and Chewie help Finn from the ship and rush him off to someone who could help with his rib, leaving her alone with Han’s body. She saw the cars that had been driven by the Snap’s team alongside another car Jessika and her team must have driven. It calmed her a little to know they got back safely since she knew a damaged car when she saw one.

For awhile Rey stayed, still numb and therefore unable to move, in the main passenger seat, letting the other people scurry past the main window, and before long a lone figure stepped out from the crowd. Rey looked to her and then rushed off the bus.

General Leia Organa held out her arms and Rey rushed straight towards them. Tripping on her feet the last few steps, she landed against Leia’s chest but Leia soothed her embarrassment. Together, they simply held each other and took comfort in the other’s presence. For it was all they could do now.

But their grief remained short lived. They needed to pack and prepare as fast as humanly possible, Leia explained, because despite the victory the First Order knew of their current location and their only opinion left was to flee another location immediately.

‘Pack what you have, Rey,’ Leia said, ‘for we have less than hour to hit the road and leave this place for good.’

¬

The memorial stood over fifteen feet tall and stretched out almost just as wide. No matter how long he gazed at it, Finn could not believe the immense detail. Each member of the Rogue One Resistance team had been carved in absolute precision.

Commander Jyn Erso, promoted to so after her death, stood at the helm, her gaze stern and the kyber crystal around her neck made from real glass so it shone when the Sun passed through it correctly. Next to her, stood Captain Cassian Andor, his coat embroidered with all the medals he’d been denied after the First Order erased his silver service in the army. The fur lining his hood was so detailed, from a distance Finn kept mistaking it for the real thing. Behind them were lifelong partners Chirrut Îmwe and Baze Malbus, the blind warrior who’d used his Jedi Force senses to make up for the loss of his fifth sense and the assassin turned protector whose legendary aim was said to have been greater than even General Solo. Chirrut sat on a carved rock, his hands in Baze’s as Baze gazed adoringly at his husband.

On Jyn and Cassian’s other side, K-2SO towered over them. His misshapen mechanical legs and arms gave him the profile of a machine rather than a man. But Finn liked him the most because he’d been brought up on the First Order’s brainwashing as well and managed to turn his life into something meaningful before it ended. He gave Finn hope he could do that with his life and also give it to those other workers who had survived the factory explosion. He just needed to find them.

And then in the corner, Bodhi Rook had been carved, down on his knee. He almost didn’t get included. A First Order deserter, the Resistance struggled to recognise his loyalty and commitment to their cause. But without his efforts, a huge proportion of Resistance bases wouldn’t exist anymore. Bodhi used his experience serving the First Order to mask Rogue One and allow them to penetrate the walls long enough for Jyn and her team to destroy all the delicate Resistance information on the First Order archive database. The mission on which they were evidently caught and that ended with the cost of their lives.

To commemorate their memories, on the large cuboid that took up half the height and that they were mounted on top of read the words:

 _They died believing in our freedom_.

Everything about the statue was one single colour of soft dark blue. Under that were written their names along with the names of all the Resistance members who’d died before and after them. The last space sanded down and coated in paper to protect it from the Sun, left ready for workers to come and carve into it Han’s name the next day.

Finn thought they’d already done it by now. Hence why he’d come here to see it on the first day he got released from the medcenter, after listening to Poe go on and on about it while he remained bedridden, the second they arrived at this main Resistance base. Poe still acted weird around him, unfortunately. He’d never slept overnight in Finn’s medcenter room like Rey had done almost every night, and he’d often needed to be invited to Finn’s bedside as if it were a question whether Finn wanted to be around him or not. Finn wondered when he had given off that impression. He certainly never needed inviting to Poe’s room back at the factory.

Finn decided to give him some space for now. They’d barely known each other for a year, obviously Poe possessed closer friends who would provide him with the comfort he needed, and he could come Finn when he was ready.

The Sun felt pleasant on Finn’s face after a week inside as he continued to stare up at the large memorial, standing proud in the centre of the Resistance village campus. It provided a small section of shade when the light grew too much. Birds chirped in the nearby trees and the breeze played with his loose trousers and Poe’s jacket wrapped around his shoulders.

He missed Han.

‘How is your chest feeling today, Finn?’ a voice said and Finn turned to see the approaching low figure of Maz Kanata.

‘Uh, better yeah,’ Finn said and he rubbed the back of his neck in reaction to her presence. Something about her just had the way to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. ‘Thank you for asking, Maz.’

‘That is good to hear,’ she said on a firm step, hands clasped behind her back.

He couldn’t really explain it but an uncomfortable silence spread between them after that. Although he thought he recognised the source. ‘I, uh, wanted to apologise to you,’ he said, ‘for what I said back at your safe house. It was very forward of me and after everything you’ve done…’

Maz held up a dismissive hand clad in a multicolour of rings. ‘There is no need, I feel. You are young, Finn, still learning,’ she said. ‘And there are worse things you could have said to me.’ She gave him a warm smile.

It eased the tension somewhat. But, ‘still, I am sorry, Maz,’ Finn said.

‘You’re a tough one not to forgive, young boy,’ Maz said, smiling brighter.

Finn exhaled and turned his gaze up to Bodhi’s gentle stone face, the signature goggles resting on his head like a crown. ‘I feel the First Order would disagree with you there,’ he said and wondered if Bodhi ever felt the same way because of his actions.

‘Well, let them have their anger,’ Maz said firmly and Finn had to look at her for a second.

The memorial had been placed in this circular space connecting four paths that stretched off to different areas of the campus. The paths were lined with small stoned walls that then spread out over luscious grass planes. The Resistance refused to plant anything else on these planes to make sure the memorial remained visible within a large radius. The trip to get here, after his immediate discharge, had tired Finn more than he expected but to see the magnificent memorial in person certainly didn’t make him think it were a bad idea in the end.

Suddenly the thought arose to him and Finn gained the temptation to ask Maz this question that had been burning his mind for quite a while. A part of him didn’t want to get another person involved in his bundle of confusing feelings, but it couldn’t hurt to pry a tiny bit, surely? ‘Maz…’ he said slowly and he could see her look at him in the corner of his eye, ‘what’s it like… being with someone in the way you are with Chewie?’

Maz said nothing at first and only when he turned her way did she then choose to speak, ‘you have strong feelings for someone?’ Her eyes seemed to look right through him.

Finn swallowed. ‘ _Different_ ,’ he said. He searched for a way to explain it. ‘I have strong feelings for everything, but for him… I have feelings that are _different_ from the rest. And… I think I want to have with him what you have with Chewie.’

Thankfully Maz appeared to have understood what he was trying to say. ‘There’s a word for that—’

‘There is?!’

‘—when you’re really certain,’ she said and she smiled at his initial reaction. ‘It’s called love. You’re _in love_ , Finn.’

Love. Something he’d only ever read about in his literacy pieces on the First Order datapad he used to own, since they never mentioned it in his childhood educational classes. For a moment he wondered what happened to that thing. Probably taken in by Captain Phasma the day he went missing and put under thorough analysis for any signs of where he might have gone or how he planned to betray the First Order and so on.

‘I’ve heard of that word,’ Finn said. ‘Yeah, I know what love is. I just didn’t think it would ever feel like this.’ All the stories he ever read always happened between a man and a woman so he struggled to find the answer in there because he wasn’t in love with a woman.

However, the most surprising thing about love was that it felt painful. It ached in his chest like a weight when they weren’t around each other. So much so sometimes Finn feared he might be injured elsewhere from Phasma’s attack. They now had the most opportunities they’d ever had to see each other and be around each other, which meant Finn started to notice that Poe’s low visits to the medcenter actually affected him in a very complicated way.

‘I don’t think it ever does,’ Maz said and that made Finn’s heart sink. ‘And it’s also different with different people.’

‘Really?’ he said, solemn. ‘That doesn’t sound great.’

‘Ohhh, what doesn’t sound great?’ they both whizzed around at the sound of Karé’s voice to find her and Jessika standing at the opening of a path.

Finn immediately wondered how the both of them had managed to sneak up on him and Maz. ‘Well, Maz and I were just talking about love, actually,’ he said.

Karé pulled a face. ‘Love..?’ Clearly, she hadn’t expected that.

‘I think we’ll leave you to it then—’ Jessika said, beginning to take Karé on and away with their journey.

But Maz stopped them. ‘Actually, you girls, may be able to help me,’ she said as an attempt to show they weren’t pushing unwantedly into business, like they seemed to presume.

The pilots exchanged a look before joining Finn and Maz in the partial shade next to the memorial.

‘I’m ever up for the challenge,’ Karé said, grinning.

‘Okay,’ Jessika said and nodded. The wind sighed across the clear sky and the breeze it caused played with her silky black hair.

Under the Resistance memorial, Maz said plainly, ‘what is love to you?’

Instantly Jessika glanced at Karé to let her answer first. ‘Hmm,’ Karé said, ‘I would say it’s fire and rush but also wanting to be with someone even if you don’t do anything because their presence calms you.’

‘For me,’ Jessika said, her hand instinctively coming up to fiddle with the necklace around her neck. ‘It’s a connection,’ she spoke with her eyes to the floor, ‘somehow you feel connected, like an invisible piece of red string is tied around each of your pinky fingers and when you meet, it’s just fate. It feels right.’

‘Yeah, I get that too sometimes, actually,’ Karé added. ‘But only for those really special people.’

‘Really?’ Jessika tilted her head to give her a questioning expression. ‘I get it for every single one.’

When they were clearly finished, Maz looked to Finn.

‘I kinda feel all of that, to be honest,’ he said. The love they described was not the same one he’d read about in stories. But as he discovered just now, neither was his. ‘I’m definitely in love then.’

‘In love with Poe?’ Jessika said, suddenly.

Finn’s head snapped up. ‘Uh, yeah.’

She smiled. ‘Don’t mind me pushing into your business,’ she said, her voice gentle, ‘but he cares a lot about you as well.’

‘Are you sure?’ Finn said. The way Poe had been acting recently suggested otherwise.

‘Hey, kid, let me tell you,’ Karé said, pointing a finger at him. ‘Poe came back from the First Order with his eye the size of a fist’ she held up her own fist as visual representation, ‘and the second he heard you were still back there looking for him, he squirted a tube of perigen gel on his face and got back out there. And he’s only ever done something like that for one other man.’

She was right. Poe had done so many things to prove he felt the same way about Finn. But on the other hand he’d also done other several things to prove he didn’t. ‘Thank you,’ he said, nonetheless. Even though he remained unsure. ‘I think that’s answered what I needed answering, sort of.’ He looked to the spot again reserved on the stone for Han’s name. ‘I thought of going to ask the General but I don’t want to remind her of Han,’ Finn said.

‘None of us do, my child,’ Maz said, her features mournful. ‘To watch her own son fall so far and then to lose her husband in such a way,’ she cringed visibly from the thought, ‘it isn’t something I would wish on anyone.’

‘I couldn’t believe it when I heard,’ Finn said. ‘That Kylo Ren was their son,’ he clarified to their confused faces.

‘If anyone could survive that pain it’s her, though,’ Karé said the admiration she had for the General evident in her eyes.

‘We’re all here for her,’ Jessika said with a smile, ‘and that’s what matters now.’ In the silence that followed, her eyes wondered back to the memorial. ‘You know Poe’s a huge fan of Captain Andor. I bet you he still has that poster of him in his room.’

‘What the one he won at that raffle?’ Karé said.

‘Oh yeah, that’s how he got it. He almost lost a whole month’s credits trying to win that thing.’

Finn smiled at the idea. He could picture it now, Poe stood on his bed pushing the corners of a fancy poster against his wall, then he would step back and admire Captain Andor striking a handsome pose.

‘You wouldn’t find me participating in such frivolities,’ Maz said through the corner of her mouth.

Karé immediately pulled a face. ‘Oh really?’ she said. ‘Because I heard from _a certain someone_ , you,’ she pointed a twirling finger at Maz, ‘spent an entire week cooking and roasting a whole banquet of the finest foods in the East as part of a four month period trying to woo Chewie.’

Maz pushed her eyes up as high as they would go, trying to hold back a laugh, ‘and who would that be?’ she said.

Jessika looked at her purposefully and put her hands on her hips. ‘A wookiee who goes back the name of Chewbacca,’ she said.

‘Drats!’ Maz said with the dramatic throw of her fist. ‘I’ve been outed.’

That cracked the moment and, together, they all enjoyed a good chuckle.

‘That sounds like more food than I’ve eaten in my life time,’ Finn said as their laughter began to quieten down.

Karé looked to him sharply. ‘Really?!’

‘Knowing the First Order regime,’ Jessika said, ‘it wouldn’t surprise me.’ She sighed and put a comforting hand on Finn’s shoulder. ‘We fight the fight for a reason.’

Finn nodded.

Karé threw a glance at her watch. ‘Come on, it’s almost late,’ she said stretching her arms into the air. ‘Let’s go find the others and get something to eat.’

She and Jessika began to walk away.

Jessika turned to catch Finn’s eye. ‘You coming with us, Finn?’ she said.

‘Uh, if you’ll have me?’ Finn said, liking the idea. He walked up to join their side.

‘Certainly,’ Karé said, hooking her arm around his like she’d done with Jessika, and then turned her attention to Maz from between them. ‘Maz, what about you?’

Maz flicked a hand their way and shook her head. ‘Go ahead without me,’ she said. ‘I think I need some more time in the fresh air.’

Karé hummed. ‘Come on,’ she said and pulled her friend forward. ‘Let’s see if I can get Poe to retell his favourite Captain Andor mission. He’s such a storyteller.’

Jessika eyebrows popped up in excitement. ‘I can second that,’ she said.

‘Okay,’ Finn said as they led him down a different stone walled path to the one he’d come up. ‘Sounds nice.’

¬

Over a half a decade had passed since he’d been back to D’Qar. But other than the few technological advances, the village had barely changed an inch. His room lay untouched, still the same duvet and sheets covering his bed as five years before. In fact, they almost still smelled like him. He had no previous possessions left to move back in, so Poe actually felt rather thankfully for that somewhat. Even though it were a little creepy on Leia’s behalf to leave his room completely untouched for five years. BB-8 disappeared into their usual spot underneath the bed and Poe sat down next to it and leant over to watch them, upside down, begin to clean their paw. When BB-8 noticed their audience, they meowed and Poe smiled with a hum.

The smile didn’t last long, however; the bruise on his face still ached, when he did so or any for any other expression. But that wasn’t the worst of the damage and Poe couldn’t forget it.

It turned out he owed his thanks to General Leia for sending a team to try and kill General Brendol Hux Jr because it saved him from continued torture and his imminent fate. But everyone else seemed to be more focused on the fact it saved Maz Kanata’s safe house from being discovered by the First Order early than it did, to notice Poe’s benefits. Upon getting word of his assassination attempt, General Hux immediately fled, down to First Order policy, since his importance could not be risked. Therefore, his investigation of Jessika Pava and Poe had to be halted mid-process and that then gave them all enough time to flee to somewhere safer.

However, the First Order didn’t completely forget about them and Kylo Ren had chosen to stay behind. The ship they’d stolen had been his, meaning it were also his legion of Stormtroopers roaming the city looking for them.

Sunlight shone in through his window, but the wind blew sharp against glass; winter was on the way once more. How different this one would be from the year previous. At the end of his corridor, he grabbed a brush and cloth from the store room and then got to work for the next couple of hours cleaning his room of dust and lint. He re-stuck his Captain Cassian Andor poster with new sticky tac, polished his mirror, and shuffled through his wardrobe to see if anything needed to be chucked out because it didn’t fit anymore. He filled a cardboard box with sawdust as a makeshift litter box for BB-8 until he could venture out tomorrow and buy them a proper one. He made a quick nip down to the local pharmacy to stock up on refresher – and _other_ – supplies, before he then got found by Karé, Jessika, and Finn and went for lunch.

They got him to retell some classic Captain Andor missions and, even after everything, that spark Finn used to give him back the factory still appeared. He got through three stories without feeling cynical or grouchy at all. Finn looked so nice in clothes of his own choosing and his, now Finn’s, jacket that he’d kept to his promise of not slipping back into Poe’s stuff when he wasn’t looking. Poe sat next to him in the lunch hall opposite Karé and Jessika, until Iolo and Snap came to join them and brought their whole clique of friends along, a few Poe recognised from his previous service in the Resistance. He watched Finn blend in and bond with the others for a moment, then Poe excused himself to the refresher and slipped away instead back up to his room.

He changed his shoes and put on an extra layer, missing the comfort of his jacket just a little, to leave his room as quickly as possible before either Karé or Jessika came looking for him. Slipping out the door, BB-8 came bounding past him and he let them stay out after keeping them shut indoors for the whole morning. They meowed at his side and followed him down the corridor.

Poe found the Millennium Falcon in the barn. Talking with Finn about the Rogue One members had made him semimetal all of a sudden; he wanted to visit some more old stuff. Dark enough for the lights on, it clearly appeared to be the only vehicle in the place for now. He was glad they’d chosen this barn. He didn’t want to visit the others yet, since they used to be where he stored his ship and after losing his small scale model back at the factory, he aimed for a while to avoid anything that would remind him of the fact he was never going to see it again.

Surprisingly Rey and Chewie were inside chatting amongst each other in the open driver’s cubical about various parts the young girl hadn’t noticed and inner workings of the double-decker engine. It felt nice seeing the two of them sticking together after the loss they’d suffered. Poe was sure he couldn’t remember a time he ever saw Han without Chewie and Rey was far too young to have felt a pain like that so soon.

Poe stepped inside carefully, the door now missing and to be replaced in the coming weeks for their trip to find Luke Skywalker. BB-8, still by his side, leaped up onto the nearest chair. Chewie threw a glance over his shoulder but remained seated and lost in conversation with Rey while Poe examined the interior. They’d really managed to clear this place out for space and after a while he began to spot how all the original parts had been twisted and moulded into sofas or shelving or beds.

When he got closer to the front, Rey finally noticed his presence, especially when BB-8 jumped up persistently into her lap. ‘Oh! Hey, Commander Dameron, when did you get here?’ she said, face bright.

He raised a gentle hand. ‘Please, call me Poe. Even the General doesn’t address me that way,’ he said, insisting.

‘Don’t worry, Rey,’ Chewie’s throat rumbled with the rough wookiee language. Poe just about understood him; he hadn’t heard wookiee in a long time. ‘He got here just now.’

‘Oh, okay,’ Rey said. She was popped up, legs crossed, on the main passenger seat. Dressed in a new shirt and sleeveless jacket, she fiddled with her staff, bouncing it between her hands. BB-8 snuggled against her elbows, demanding attention. ‘Have you ever driven the Falcon before, Poe?’

‘Uh,’ he thought for a moment and a distant memory popped in his head of him seated in the driver’s seat back when he, Jessika, and Iolo were very young and Muran was still alive. But, he remembered now, that he didn’t actually drive the bus, just played pretend while they mucked around in it until they got caught by Han. ‘No,’ he said and for some reason Rey looked disappointed. But, ‘I’m more of a pilot than a land driver,’ he said as a consolation.

‘I like both,’ Rey said. Absentmindedly she stroked BB-8. ‘Would you… be willing to teach me some stuff about flying at some point?’

‘Sure,’ Poe said with a smile so she didn’t feel so nervous around him. It made him feel like a parent who snapped at their kids too often and Poe was at least five years too young to feel like a parent at the moment. He really didn’t possess a reputation that was worth such the nervous manner that she thought he did.

Seemingly it worked and Rey smiled back. ‘I only ever really learned to fly from an old put together simulator. And it’s the same with driving, so I got Chewie here to teach me anything I’ve missed.’

Chewie grunted appreciatively when Rey gestured towards him.

‘I can see that,’ Poe said, his eyes on her staff, on the purring BB-8, and then on the floor. He wanted to say it was amazing how she knew even what she knew from such an unreliable source, but his mouth didn’t feel like it. Instead, he let the silence settle heavy between them.

Rey detected something in this silence as it stretched out. Her hands stilled around her staff. ‘Are you okay, Poe?’ she said, serious.

The right answer would be to say that yeah he was fine and nobody had anything to worry about but he couldn’t help the temptation and, no matter how hard he tried, he always did retain a small amount of hope things would move towards the better, if he just let it. ‘No,’ he said, softly.

Rey stayed quiet until he glanced up and then asked, ‘is it because of what Kylo Ren… did to you?’ her voice faltering from Poe’s reaction.

Even now that name still sent shivers down his spine. He needed to end this, before it tricked him into thinking things might change. ‘It’s on my list of things, yeah,’ he said with a trying smile.

‘Have you talked with anyone,’ Rey said, ‘about what he did, exactly?’ She propped her staff down against the front window next to her and threw a hand towards the nearest passenger chair. Shifting to get comfortable around BB-8, she said, ‘because you’re welcome to try with us. If you want to that is?’

Unsure, Poe looked to Chewie and he seemed just as eager to listen, so he took up her offer and sat down. The chair smelled like Han and washing powder. ‘I don’t know where to start,’ he said, hands in his lap.

‘Um, I’m not sure either,’ Rey said and turned to Chewie. ‘Any ideas?’

‘Start with how they caught you,’ Chewie said, suggesting.

The space inside the Falcon was mostly fabric so it had a way of absorbing all the sounds in the air and leaving that stuffy silence that always happened to be the most deafening. Poe’s ears were ringing whilst he thought of what to say. ‘I think they came because they knew what we’d been doing in the factory,’ he said, ‘because they had a camera in my room I didn’t know about.’

‘Really?’ Rey said suddenly, eyes wide.

‘Always watching, the First Order are,’ Chewie said, and sounded like he was reciting someone.

‘General Hux showed me some of the pictures they saved,’ Poe said. He could still see all eight of them right now very clearly if he just closed his eyes. ‘But that’s not the worst thing I think about them having seen.’ He squeezed his legs shut at the mere prospect.

Thankfully Chewie carried the conversation on then. ‘What happened once you were caught?’ he said.

‘They came for me with Stormtroopers,’ Poe explained, ‘trashed my place, and then took me away to this cell. Once inside that, I tried to keep track of how long they kept me in there but I don’t really know… it could have been a few days. Then they brought me out and…’ This suddenly felt like an absolutely bad idea. But one look up at their encouraging faces, at BB-8 snuggled up and falling asleep in Rey’s lap, made him want to keep going, at least for a little longer.

Poe swallowed. ‘I got taken to a room with a desk and sat down opposite General Hux. Kylo Ren was also stood in the corner; I had trouble noticing him at first… Hux showed me the photos they saved of my room and then asked what I put in the message, offering up the consolation of a better death for me if I cooperated.’

‘What was the first death option?’ Rey said.

Poe couldn’t think why she would want to know, but maybe she thought he needed a way to be more open here. ‘Disembowelment,’ he said and she stuck her tongue out in disgust. Poe waited a moment before continuing, ‘I didn’t give them what they wanted. It seemed kinda pointless, really; they said they already knew where Maz’s safe house was. They could have just destroyed the message along with the rest of us but he still wanted to know… I soon realised they didn’t actually know where the safe house was and they wanted me to slip up and tell them.’

‘Was that when he set Kylo Ren on you?’ Rey said.

Poe nodded. ‘He just hit me at first, hence how I got this,’ he pointed to his eye. The swelling had gone down greatly but the colour remained strong. A deep purple that contrasted terribly with his golden skin. ‘But Hux seemed bored, said I’d already been beaten up before. And I had. That’s how I met Finn; he saved me from some workers trying to pinch extra credits.’

Rey’s lips curved in a small smile. ‘He told me while in the medcenter, yeah,’ she said.

Poe exhaled and looked down. ‘Well then instead, Hux made Kylo Ren go inside my head. He used the Force on me in a way I’d never seen before,’ he said to his hands. In fact, what Kylo made him see still haunted him. It was why he didn’t spend those nights in the medcenter with Finn, despite very much wanting to; he didn’t want to disturb him and Rey on the off chance he got these new violent and vivid nightmares.

Chewie grunted out something in wookiee but Poe missed the beginning bit and then struggled to fully understand what he’d said at all.

‘Um, sorry my wookiee is a little rusty,’ Poe said. ‘Can you repeat that?’

But Rey answered it for him, ‘he just asked “what happened next? When the Sith Lord got in your head?”’

Poe fought the bubble in his throat to get the words out clearly. ‘Amongst other things… they made me envision beating Finn to death over and over again…’ His voice became very quiet all of a sudden, ‘they made me want it, made me want to… at least… I hoped they did.’

When he finally peered upwards, Rey and Chewie looked equally horrified and Poe was so thankful because he’d been utterly scared to tell anyone about this since the moment it happened. He thought everyone would blame him for the images, would say they must have come from his side not Kylo’s. When he woke up in the dead of night, screaming and choking on tears, he thought about all the horrible things everyone would think of him once they knew.

Rey’s hand had jumped to her mouth. ‘That’s horrible, Poe,’ she said through her fingers. ‘Why would anyone want you to experience that?’

‘I don’t know,’ Poe said, hopelessly. His eyes began to sting.

‘So, can you not—?’ Rey asked, cautious. ‘Do you think you’ll still be able to be around him?’

‘Yeah, of course,’ Poe said in reassurance. ‘I’ve gotten better just _from_ being around him. The way he trusts me even if I don’t trust myself… it helps. But who knows what the real damage is, huh?’ He tapped his head; what could be the lasting effects? What else had Kylo Ren done to him? He didn’t look forward to finding out.

‘Well, I’m here if you ever need to talk about it,’ Rey said. She looked to Chewie with determination and grabbed his hand. ‘We all are. Chewie and I may be going away but you’re not alone. And I’m sure Finn would understand, if you ever decide to tell him.’

‘Thanks,’ Poe said and he forced out a very small smile, sure his eyes were as red as blood right now. ‘You’re very wise. I think you’ll make a great Jedi.’

Rey grinned, bright and strong, the expression filling her whole face. ‘D’ya think so?’ she said.

Her smile nearly blinded him and he thought of the last time he felt that happy. Then he thought of something worse and his body finally seemed to catch up with him. Squeezing his eyes shut made no difference, he burst into embarrassing sobs and doubled over onto the floor, shaking.

Immediately Chewie and Rey were there. Chewie’s strong arms gathered him up into a hug and he gave a solemn grunt. Poe rested his head against his chest and the support made him feel weightless. The tears were soaking his hands, blurring his vision completely, so the orange BB-8 shaped blob flinched when he ran a wet hand over the space between their ears.

He could feel Rey’s grip firmly on his shoulder. ‘Oh Poe. It’ll be alright, I’m sure,’ she said from above him.

But right now the words refused to stick in his mind and maybe that was okay. Maybe he just needed a moment to fall apart for now and worry about being put back together later on. So he did that, he let it all go and cried harder than he’d ever done before in his twenty eight years long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love Richard Siken’s work. I haven’t bought his book, Crush, yet. People always use it for Stucky picture/gif sets, though. I applied this poem to Poe too because, I feel, him and Bucky would really like each other. People often forget, Bucky adores sci-fi so he’d definitely watch the new Star Wars movie in a universe where it’s just film.
> 
> My [fancast](http://yellowhalcyon.tumblr.com/post/155268105584/rapier-squadron-co-elements-aesthetics-poe) for the Rapier squad.  
> Have the [Rogue One crew](http://yellowhalcyon.tumblr.com/post/155965638369/results-are-built-on-labour-dystopian-society) as well.
> 
> [Also I finally remember the name of the place I based [Maz's safehouse](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipMP_nCUoskFjAb5KvkY6XbYobgIFbdADGxLQ_Jl=s1600-w1600) off cos I went on holiday there once :P]


	6. Epilogue – Freedom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well who would have thought it, I've finished this fucking thing.  
> Thank you so much to everyone who gave me words of encourage, you're probably half the reason this fic even got past the first chapter :D  
> Well here goes, the last chapter of my first ever proper multi chapter fic, that just so happens to be a 100k fic as well :3

If he were honest, Poe had not properly looked at himself in a mirror for a very long time. Partly out of a lack of time and facilities, but mainly because he did not want to anymore. The mirror issued to him back in his factory room had had a large crack running down the centre and been coated from head to toe in scratches, and the full length one in his room was angled to miss his head. Looking now, in a crisp and polished one at perfect head angle, he saw exactly why he didn’t want to. His eyes took the worst of the fight. Regardless of the swelling, they’d lost so much light and looked like the eyes of a dead man. He made a mental note to stay away from any old holo or flimsi images of himself for the foreseeable future. His beard was a wiry, messy display along his chin and cheeks and felt like crap when he ran his fingers over it. His skin definitely needed more nutrients, wan and patchy. And his lips were flaky and chapped, dried up from a cycle of bad eating habits. He licked them quickly and got back to mixing his shaving cream.

The paste didn’t feel consistent in the slightest, but he wanted to avoid keeping Iolo’s shaving blade for longer than necessary, having lost his old one back at the factory, although it probably would have been too obsolete by now anyways. He smeared his chin and cheeks and upper lips and then washed it from his hands. As predicted, the clearer, runnier parts began to drip down his neck whilst he ran the blade over his skin. By the time he’d done, the stray streaks were soaking into his shirt.

It made no difference to changing his mind, in the end. He still didn’t want to look at himself.

Poe washed his face and changed his shirt. He threw both the towel and shirt in his wash basket in the corner and was sat on his bed, staring into nothing, when a couple of knocks sounded at the door. He got up and slowly walked towards it.

Jessika’s eyes went wide the second she came into view. ‘Oh… you shaved,’ she said, pleasantly surprised. Shaking her head, she then added, ‘anyways, Admiral Ackbar needs you immediately in Transport Hanger Five. So put on something warm and let’s go,’ when he didn’t instantly do as told, she grunted, ‘come on.’

‘Okay,’ Poe said. He pulled away from the door and looked around for his jacket, having put his shoes on earlier.

Jessika stepped into his room and propped herself up against the doorway. ‘And also no disappearing act this time,’ she said, matter of a fact. ‘I want to have a big word with you afterwards, Poe.’ He glanced at her by the door but her eyes were facing the ground. ‘I have a feeling you need it.’

‘Okay,’ Poe said. He found his jacket under his sleepwear on the chair he used to hold his clothes until he could decide what to do with them.

‘Hey.’ Suddenly Jessika had hold of his arm but the grip remained light. ‘Stop this and give me a real answer for a second,’ she said.

Poe sighed and she let him go as he put his jacket back down. ‘What do you want me to say, Jess?’ he said.

‘It’s not what I want you to say,’ she said, face softening. ‘I want you to _know_ , Poe, that no matter what’s happened I will stand by you and never aim to make you feel any worse than you already do. Come on,’ she punched his arm, ‘we’re partners for life now, remember? In it to help the Resistance _together_ , that’s why I came back for you.’ _That and you being my friend_ went unsaid because it didn’t need to be, even now.

Unsure how to respond, he looked away with his eyes first and then turned to pick back up his jacket. Putting it on, he fought the urge to be hostile because Jessika didn’t deserve that and he knew it. ‘Thank you,’ he said, quietly. ‘But I don’t think there’s much you _could_ do that’s gonna help me.’

She crossed her arms over her chest and said, ‘let me be the judge of that.’

And now he had to fight against the smirk aiming to spread across his lips. ‘Okay,’ he said, turning to her and finally letting it take over.

Jessika gave him the look he exactly expected she would. ‘Oh really?’ she said. They soon cracked and giggled to each other, but afterwards she pointed a warning finger at him. ‘Well I’ll let you have that one at least. But you owe me for the first two.’

‘I owe you for a lot of things, Jess,’ Poe said softly so she couldn’t hear as she made her way out the room. He rushed to join her and pulled his door firmly shut and left awaiting his access code for when he got back. BB-8 had disappeared off hunting, so he didn’t need to worry about them for a while. The building was locked by floor levels as well, allowing for no immense necessity to individually lock the doors, plus he trusted the people on his floor. He trusted everyone in the Resistance as matter of a fact but the privacy level had not been requested by him, and there were times he was thankful for the extra layer of security, of course. As he imagined others were. Jessika lived in the room next to him, instead of down the hall this time, but she would have commed him if she really needed him.

Finn’s flat was a few doors down, although Poe hadn’t been in it yet. Or anywhere near it for that matter, choosing to come up to his room from the staircase at the other end of the corridor. He must have been in there now Poe thought as he glanced down towards it, walking by Jessika’s side.

‘Uh, why does the Admiral want to see me again?’ he said, rubbing the back of his neck in worry.

‘Oh I would not want to ruin the surprise,’ Jessika said and clearly planned to give nothing away.

They reached the end of the corridor and, walking through the doors there, began to descend down the three flights to the bottom. Poe then followed her all the way to the large hanger out in the main commune area of the village, lingering away from the entrance and watching her open the smaller side door because it all still reminded him of his current lack of a ship. And more importantly the lack of his old ship.

Jessika became aware of this hesitation and smiled warmly. She walked back up to Poe and took his hand. ‘Trust me, you’ll want to come inside,’ she said and lead him into the hanger.

He was greeted by the head-height nose of a large agility ship. The latest model in fact, an x-wing, which Poe hated that he knew as it stood representative of the fact he couldn’t let his pilot side go and, therefore, had continued to keep up with recent ship-making fashion. However, unlike the other models of white and blue, this ship had been painted with a strong black and bright orange. He stepped back to get a better look at it and realised, with the lack of wear on the turbojets and tires and how the paint remained unscratched but appeared set into the metal rather than freshly done, this ship had barely been used, its last flight probably being to here, to have the engine refurbished and give it a fresh oiling.

Poe’s mouth hung open; Jessika had been right, he did want to see this. ‘Wow, nice ship,’ he said, genuine if a little jealous. ‘Whose is it?’

‘It’s yours, Commander Dameron,’ Admiral Ackbar’s strong and booming voice echoed down the hanger, keeping the title since he’d always been stickler with formality. He stepped out from behind the closed left wing.

‘What?’ Poe waited for either one of them to spring the joke, but both Jessika and Ackbar seemed pretty serious. ‘You can’t give me one of these,’ he said.

‘There’s nothing about it going against procedure,’ Ackbar said, walking toward them. ‘You are in need of a ship, Commander, so we made sure you got one.’ Nearer, he reached out and touched the nose of the ship. ‘And only the best of the best for one of our best.’

Poe looked down at his shoes. ‘I’m not your best pilot,’ he said, solemn.

‘Oh, you so are,’ Jessika said, having now of that.

Not so long ago he would have easily believed her. But he didn’t need another thing in his life to disappoint him. ‘I haven’t flown in over five years,’ Poe said.

‘And I believe you started when you were six years old,’ Ackbar said, explaining, ‘so I doubt that kind of experience would disappear without a fight, Commander.’

‘Also what are you talking about?’ Jessika flicked his forearm with the back of her hand, a scold. ‘Poe, you flew something last week,’ she said.

‘No that was different,’ he said and shook his head, turning to face her. ‘Flying with others is always different to flying on your own.’

‘That sounds like an excuse to me,’ General Leia’s voice made him jump and he twirled around to see her emerge from behind where Ackbar came from. They must have been talking together before he arrived. ‘And so does everything else you’ve said.’ She walked all the way forward until she stood in front of him and said, her head just barely reaching up to the top of his chest, ‘what are you so afraid of, Poe?’

‘I wouldn’t want to let you down...’ Poe said with some difficulty up against the General’s intent gaze. ‘Because I promise you I’m not the same pilot I was before the Resistance fell.’

‘So?’ Leia raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m not the same leader I was back then. I’ve adapted, and I know that you can too.’

With that concluded, Poe sighed and turned to examine the x-wing once more. He wanted to fly again and desperately. However, he didn’t deserve a ship like this; it was too much. ‘You shouldn’t let me fly this one at least,’ he said.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Leia’s figure look at him firmly. She said, ‘that’s a risk I’m willing to take.’ Suddenly Leia tapped a gentle finger on his chin and he whipped his head around towards her, ‘nice clean shave, by the way. I think you look better without it.’

Poe couldn’t help but blush under his idol’s gaze. ‘I don’t have a flight suit,’ he said in big need of changing the subject.

‘Already made one in your size,’ Leia said and she gestured to Jessika. ‘If Pava will gladly show you to the hanger changing rooms, you’ll find it in there.’

Jessika took a step forward. ‘Certainly,’ she said.

‘Now, I’ll give you some room to get familiar and then it should still be clear enough to fly in less than an hour,’ Leia said and Poe left them after that without another word.

He knew exactly where the changing rooms were, hadn’t forgotten from last time here. He didn’t need to be shown, evident by Jessika left trailing behind him whilst he walked in their direction. She still came inside with him, though, and made herself comfortable by the dresser table as he easily spotted the orange flight suit hung up on one of the sets of lockers.

‘We’re going with the orange still?’ he said but when he glanced at Jessika, she merely shrugged and got back to checking out herself in the mirror. Poe stripped down to his boxers and under vest, not conscious at all of Jessika’s presence in the room, and slipped into the jumpsuit before applying the appropriate straps and the large white safety vest.

Walking over to check his hair in the mirror was when Jessika finally became aware he’d finished dressing. She snapped to attention and smiled pleasantly, ‘that was fast.’

‘I don’t hang around,’ Poe mused, shuffling about his black locks back into the right place.

She stood up and moved out of his way. ‘Alright. Well, give me a couple of minutes and I’ll join you out in my x-wing.’

Several minutes later and Jessika, now dressed in a similar orange flight suit, was showing Poe how to control the machine that dragged the x-wings out onto the runway. Once understood, Jessika went to pull at the shutter door chain while Poe directed the machine outside. They found a small crowd waiting for them, which Poe had no trouble not acknowledging until after Jessika returned with her x-wing and he spotted Finn, wearing his jacket no less, standing in amongst the gathered people.

Poe whipped back around quickly and said under his breath, ‘what is Finn doing here?’

Jessika glanced behind her from where she was helping Poe to finish checking his turbojet for obscurities. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘you know, maybe he came with Rey because she’s really into learning how to fly, and they’re friends.’

Poe peered out again and spotted Rey by his side this time as they talked with some old and some unrecognisable Resistance members. ‘Yeah, maybe…’ he said, turning back, unsure if he was disappointed for that reason or glad Finn wasn’t aiming to get attached to him.

Abruptly, before he could stop her, Jessika called out to them. ‘Hey! Finn! Rey! Come over here!’ she said, shouting over the runway and waving her hand.

Poe fought the urge to slump his shoulder because he knew Finn would currently be looking at him. He side-eyed Jessika with a scowl and whispered to her, ‘you’re a cruel woman, Jess.’

She grinned brightly. ‘I do my best,’ probably believing all of this to be down to the fact he was merely embarrassed at demonstrating his skills in front of his crush. She thought it was just a crush he had on Finn, and nothing else more troublesomely complicated had been thrown into the mix.

Poe didn’t turn around until he knew Finn happened to be right behind him. Although, he didn’t yet find it hard to put a smile on his face for him. ‘Hey,’ he said.

‘Hey,’ Finn said back with an equally strong smile.

Rey asked Jessika about her ship and so that quickly left the two of them alone.

Poe couldn’t think of anything to say, therefore said nothing and returned to finalising his check of the turbojet.

Finn, on the other hand, took a boarder look at his ship and then his eyes moved to Jessika’s across the runway. ‘Is there a reason they’re different colours? They look exactly like each other,’ he said.

‘That’s because they are,’ Poe said. Finished, he pulled the cloth from his back pocket and rubbed the oil off his hands. ‘It’s to do with rank; I have the highest rank of all the pilots here so they gave me a ship to point that out.’ But it still did not mean he deserved it and even if he could prove it to the others, he wondered how long it was going to take to convince himself.

‘I like it,’ Finn said. ‘The black and orange, it’s nice.’ His head turned upwards, ‘it’ll make it easier to find you in the sky.’

‘Not if you’re up in there with me,’ Poe let slip out.

Finn’s eyes went wide. ‘Yeah,’ he said and a beautiful smile grew across his face. ‘I-I’d love to do that some day. Go flying with you, definitely.’

Poe’s heart sung. ‘Me too,’ he said, smiling too. His eyes drifted over the light brown jacket and an interest popped into his head. ‘How’s your rib?’

‘Much better, yeah,’ Finn said, his hand unconsciously touching over the spot. ‘It feels almost gone; the medical care here is amazing.’

‘Yeah, they work wonders,’ Poe said and, remembering, added, ‘much better than torn up bed sheet bandages and kisses?’

Finn looked away and smiled warmly, clearly recalling as well. ‘Well,’ he said firmly. ‘I still appreciated that nice cream and it was better than the alternative of the other workers looking at me like I was broken for being in pain.’ He met Poe’s eye, ‘you helped me make sense of what was happening at the time.’

Poe nodded to acknowledge his words. Then cautiously he reached down and took Finn’s scarred arm in hand. Giving him plenty of time to put a stop to this, he held the arm in one hand and raised the sleeve of his jacket with the other, pushing it up out the way of the scar below. Confident from how far he’d gotten, Poe lifted the arm slightly and bent down to plant a gentle kiss atop the tanned, smooth skin. Pulling back up, he saw Finn’s face appeared full of surprise but also confusion. He hadn’t tensed when Poe kissed him so Poe smiled. ‘For luck,’ he said as an excuse, hoping Finn would buy it.

‘Oh,’ he laughed, his face relaxing, ‘I’d be happy to give you all the luck you need.’

Poe watched him take back his arm and shove the sleeve back down, the weather far too cold to leave it be. Then Poe said, ‘you should get out of the way of the runway and go stand with the others,’ and proceeded to disappear off in search of his leather pilot hat. He glanced over to find Jessika already in her ship, booting up, and Rey was heading back to find a place in the crowd. When his gaze moved back to where he and Finn had been a moment before, Finn was walking off to do the same. Funnily enough, Poe found his pilot hat in his cockpit and, after he’d sat down inside, put it on along with the freshly polished goggles.

He powered up the engine and flicked on the appropriate parts of the ship. Slipping on his headset and switching on the radio buzzed to life a whole world of conversation in his ear. He heard Jessika talking to the folks in the runway station and the person minding the runway. They made sure Poe had joined the conversation and he’d powered up everything he needed to for a flight before getting the all clear.

The machine rumbled with a mind of its own under his body. He waited a moment to observe Jessika as she began to hover and take flight and then joined her himself.

Up in the air, the feeling took over his body and soul almost instantly and, unlike his fears, it did not disappoint him. He’d been right before, this was nothing like flying in a group. Every movement he made with his hand on the stick, no matter how small or delicate, translated through into the ship itself easily. Every movement was his own. He felt weightless and floating, sure he could be dreaming, for in fact he only ever felt this way in his dreams. A grin spread across his lips against his control and laughter threatened to bubble in his throat. He let it. Because this freedom was all he’d ever wanted from the world and now he’d finally got it. He forgot everything else and focused solely on this moment. He didn’t worry about how badly Kylo Ren had fucked him up, didn’t fuss over his feelings for Finn or vice versa; he stopped thinking about what to say to Jessika when they were down on land again. Instead he took a hammer, the biggest one he could imagine, and slammed it as hard as he could against the wall dividing his mind. He didn’t stop until a sizeable hole in the wall had been completely crushed to dust.

For in this moment, Poe felt truly free in the way he only did when flying, and finally it gave him a small hope things were going to be alright.

He took the next step. He was going to be okay.

¬

It would probably always be a foreign concept for Finn to have his own room, a huge, personal and most importantly enclosed space all to himself. The first thing he struggled to adjust to was the silence. Back at the factory he’d had to sleep in one room in many rows alongside the others workers, surrounding him with all manner of disturbances from snoring to farts to groaning you really wished you weren’t hearing. Here, the Resistance village had an air of gentle silence about it, he found very peaceful. Any sound that happened here, from electrical buzzing to the wildlife, only added to a comforting white noise.

The second struggle presented itself in the fact Finn didn’t have much in the way of belongings. So for the mean time his room would remain relatively empty, albeit already containing a bed and a wardrobe in the corner. But after visiting Rey’s room, down the corridor, and seeing she didn’t own much either he felt a little less out of place. In the factory the only thing he ever truly owned to his name was his datapad, but that would long destroyed by now with the rest of that place. Not even the clothes on his body had really belonged to him; they were the First Order’s property to give and, especially, to take away from him as they pleased. The old, and much suppressed, memory of working next to a naked, hunched over in embarrassment, and shivering Slip for the duration of one whole day still didn’t settle right in his stomach.

Finn shivered and immediately stood up. He needed to shake off the feeling that image produced and walked out onto his balcony. He stuck two fingers in his shirt collar, while walking, to pull it a little wider and gain some extra air.

Out on the balcony, looking either side, he could see that every room possessed one. He looked to his left and funnily enough spotted Poe out on his own balcony. They locked eyes for a moment before Poe darted in doors. Finn sighed and rested his head on his arms on top of the balcony railings. Even under the long sleeves of his button up shirt, the iron managed to absorb all the heat from his skin.

On the one hand, he dearly wished to give Poe all the time he needed and didn’t want him to feel rushed in any particular way. The man had been intensely tortured, from the little intel he could get from Poe’s report on the whole matter. Having spent his whole life basically doing the same, Finn concurred with Poe about not feeling like the same person he used to be. Finn almost became a new man every single day under the First Order’s actions, in some ways better than others. He knew it was selfish to do so, but Finn blamed himself for what had happened to Poe; he got tortured and hurt because Finn left.

But on the other hand, Finn also wished someone would simply tell him what the hell was wrong with him. What was Poe’s problem? Why did he seem just like the way they were back in the factory one minute and then suddenly become all tense and hostile towards him the next? Finn knew how to watch people, he knew he was the only one Poe did this around. What had he done to earn such treatment from the man he loved and who apparently loved him back?

Finn shivered but for a different reason this time and gazed out upon the surrounding village scenery coated in silvery moonlight. The wind blew around him gentle yet with a hint of the cold to come in the future months. He used its calming nature to clear his mind and allow him to listen to that quiet white noise at the back of his mind, the one which he always found in the early mornings when sleep evaded him.

About to close his eyes, Finn started at a noise behind him and turned to find Poe caught in the motion of almost knocking on his balcony slidy doors.

Eyes wide by having his surprise detected too prematurely and a cup of hot liquid in each hand, he held them up as indication. ‘Peace offering?’ he said, ‘for the way I’ve been acting?’

Finn smiled and took his cup gladly. ‘Of course, Poe. Thank you,’ he said.

Wordlessly, they settled next to each other on the balcony, mirroring each other positions.

Finn blew at the steaming liquid, enjoying the feel of the hot air on his cheeks and nose, before taking a small sip and discovered its taste to be sweet and delicious. From the colour, he guessed this to be that hot coco Rey had been raving on and on about since a scavenger team returned with a huge batch full of the stuff. He’d presumed she had merely been biased towards fellow scavengers such as herself but Rey did indeed have a point. The drink was delicious.

After a minute, ‘I should probably explain myself—’ Poe began.

Finn rushed to speak so fast he nearly choked on the hot coco, ‘you don’t have to,’ he said, forcing through a cough quickly. He needed Poe to understand this right here and now. ‘I don’t want you to tell me things because you think I should know them. I want you to tell me something because _you_ want to tell me it. You don’t owe me anything, Poe, and I certainly don’t want you to feel that you do.’

In the silence that followed, Poe regarded him for a long second and then nodded. ‘Okay,’ he said.

Finn felt the need to fill the hush developing between them. ‘You look nice,’ he said, probably with too quick a thought. ‘Without your beard. I’m not saying you didn’t look nice with it, of course. But, yeah, you…’ he exhaled and tried simply, ‘you look good, Poe.’

Poe gave a fond smile. ‘Thank you, Finn,’ he said and looked out onto the rest of the village. ‘So how are you finding D’Qar?’

Finn smiled as well now; this sounded like the start of a talk, like the ones they used to have from back at the factory. For awhile now, he feared they might never do this thing ever again. ‘It’s amazing.’ Another breeze rushed through them so Finn placed his mug in both hands to steal its warmth. ‘Nothing like being in the factory,’ he said. ‘Well, I guess in a similar way everyone has their place, something they must to do for the good of the whole.’

‘But you get to find yourself in between that?’

‘Yeah,’ Finn said instantly. ‘I never got to pick my own clothes before. I get to choose my own food, what to do with my day. Before, you know the First Order gave me everything. They decided everything for me, even my name.’ When he glanced over, Poe was looking exactly at him. He didn’t know why but it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He liked that. ‘I like my new name,’ Finn said and he knew what that sentence would mean to Poe.

His eyebrows rose slightly. ‘I like your new name too.’ Poe blew at his cup and took a sip. ‘I suppose those kinds of things are amazing to someone like you,’ he said with a soft smile.

‘Your flying is amazing to me as well,’ Finn piped in, gleefully. ‘You’re one hell of a pilot.’ He could still picture the vibrant twists and turns of the black and orange ship against the crisp blue sky. He’d spent hours watching, long after most the crowd gathered had gone.

But Poe didn’t respond at first. In fact, he turned away and dropped his eyes to his drink, leading Finn to believe that he’d possibly offended him. ‘I think I used to be better,’ Poe said, eventually. ‘But it’s nice to be free in the air again.’

Finn tried to think for a moment of something to change his mind, but soon realised based on past experience the effort would probably be futile. Instead, ‘I can imagine,’ he said and Poe nodded.

A small pause established itself between them then, although this time neither of them seemed to mind. They enjoyed their cups of hot coco and the cold breeze, a littler easily with the extra warmth now provided, while either waited for something to say or be said.

‘You know that Resistance Captain I spoke about last week,’ Poe said when Finn’s cup was almost empty, ‘from the old Resistance?’

‘Cassian Andor, yeah,’ Finn said. ‘Karé and Jess told me you have a poster of him in your room.’

Poe appeared startled at that comment and his expression turned bemused. ‘Did they now? Force, am I gonna have a word with then about that.’ Yet he managed to chuckle lightly. Then Poe shook his head, serious. ‘But anyways he used to— in his reports for missions, he used to talk about his dedication to the cause, how he was willing to do anything and everything as long as it was in the name of freedom.’ Poe’s eyes moved away. ‘When I first read that, for a long time I didn’t get what he meant. I helped people because it felt right and because it was what I wanted to do. I wanted to help people, Finn.’ He seemed to tense suddenly and his gaze returned to Finn’s sharply. ‘I didn’t get what he meant until now. I’ve never been tortured before, never got caught for it actually, but I didn’t even think twice about resisting it, even though I’ve been gone for so long. I didn’t even know for sure whose secrets I was protecting but I did it, you know.’ Poe raised the cup to his lips, yet did not drink, almost like he wanted to hide behind it. ‘Um, I’m not really sure what my point is here—’ he began.

‘No, I get what you’re trying to say, Poe,’ Finn said and he did. ‘You’ve finally given your life to something and you didn’t realise it would be this easy and this hard.’ He looked to his own cup, hot coco nearly gone. ‘I think I feel the same.’

‘Finn,’ Poe said, gently. He waited for him to look back up before continuing, ‘you said, back when we were in the factory, you said that you didn’t think you were real until you met me. Do you remember that?’

‘Yeah.’

‘What did you mean by that?’ Poe said. But he didn’t wait long for answer. ‘Because you’ve always been real, Finn, I didn’t make you anything. I gave you what I could, I gave you friendship and songs and food. But you… you always had it in you to be _real_. You’ve always been capable of doing fantastic things.’ With a smile Poe reached out and grasped Finn’s shoulder. ‘You’re a good man, Finn.’ He squeezed gently to emphasis his words. And then just as quickly let go, retreating back to his space on the balcony, suddenly shy. ‘I just wanted to make sure you know that.’

‘I do, Poe,’ Finn said in an instant. ‘But it’s nice to hear you tell me.’ He could see that look returning to Poe’s body, the same one that had overtaken him so much lately since they’d been reunited. Finn realised that unlike before, they were in a position where he could do something about it. Now it was his turn but, first, he needed to be brave enough to say it. ‘Poe...’ Again, he waited until the other looked at him directly before continuing.

Suddenly Poe’s gaze felt like a thousand tonnes.

Finn gulped. However, he pushed a little harder and managed to start talking. ‘Um, look, we all have scars,’ he said. ‘We’ve all had bad things that were done to us.’ Finished with his drink, he put the cup down to void it of distraction. ‘My friend... died in my arms and it turns out the First Order ruined him so much he thought he wasn’t worth caring about anymore. So you shouldn’t believe that you’re alone in all this and whatever it is that’s bothering you, I’m sure it doesn’t make you half as broken as you think it does.’ Poe’s eyes flew wide like he was scared so Finn took a step towards him in reassurance. ‘I’m here if you want to talk or whatever. I’m here and _I’m safe_ ; I won’t judge you, I promise.’ Finn would never judge Poe. How could he? For a moment, he looked away to quickly think of anything he’d missed.

Discovering there to be nothing else left, he looked back across and found Poe to be staring at him like he’d only just discovered Finn existed. With nothing more to say, Finn tried a soft smile but when Poe still let this silence continue, he grew concerned. ‘Poe?’ he said.

Still silent, Poe started to move towards him, cup left to drop to the floor, and then crowded up into his space rather quickly. Thinking he was asking for a hug, Finn opened his arms. Except, Poe’s hands didn’t land where they were supposed. Instead of around on his body, they landed on Finn’s cheeks.

He cradled his face, Finn’s nervous hands on his waist, and said, ‘may I kiss you?’

‘Uh, where?’

‘On your lips.’

‘Yes,’ Finn said.

Poe closed his eyes and pulled their heads together until… their lips touched.

Not quite sure what he was doing but finding he wanted it just the same, Finn froze at the slid of Poe’s lips against his own. It was a kiss. But not in the ways he’d known of before. Poe was _kissing him_.

Poe was kissing him… on the lips? So logically, they were kissing each other.

Okay. This was okay.

He tried to make himself relax and closed his eyes like he could see Poe had done. Admittedly, it was little slimy at first and Finn found it hard to know where to put his hands, darting from Poe’s waist to his back to onto his waist again. But, in time, he let himself be handled by Poe, trusting him, and found he certainly enjoyed this new way they were touching.

Briefly Poe pulled off to run his lips over Finn’s jaw and neck. It left a wet trial, which once hit by the cool breeze sent shivers down Finn’s spine, before Poe darted back up to his lips again. Poe moved one of the hands on his cheek to the back of Finn’s neck and used it to pull him closer, releasing this wonderful moan right from the back of his throat as he did so. Finn liked this idea too, and his hands finally settling on Poe’s shoulders, pulled them closer together still.

Another minute or so passed. They pulled apart and Finn realised, amongst _a lot_ of things, his heart was thumping right up against his chest.

Poe rested their foreheads together. ‘Finn, the things I want to do you,’ he said, breathless. He kissed him again in a series of short, sweet pecks, and delicious sliding lips. His thumb brushed over Finn’s cheek and when Finn looked at him now, Poe smiled like he couldn’t stop himself.

‘Do them,’ Finn said just as breathless. Where his hands lay on his back, he squeezed Poe’s shirt. ‘Do everything. I want you to. I want you, Poe. So much, I don’t even understand it.’

‘I want you too. I—’ Poe snapped his mouth shut then and bit his lip, stopping whatever he would have said next. For a short moment, he appeared to be arguing with something inside himself, dark eyebrows constricting together, and Finn felt his grip loosen. Giving him time, Poe contemplated those things in his head, not pressing forward but not letting Finn go either, before finally coming to a pre-emptive decision. He looked at Finn and said, firmly, ‘you just promise me that if there’s anything you don’t like, you’ll tell me and, I swear, it stops. Right then and there. I’d _always_ rather you said “no” than I make you uncomfortable.’

Finn nodded until it felt like his head might fall off. ‘I promise, okay? I promise I will.’

Poe smiled and laughed and leaned in to kiss him again.

Finn met him half way. He didn’t really know how to kiss back but he tried his best to respond to what Poe was doing to him. It turned out to be harder than expected, however, to use his mouth in a way he’d never envisioned possible. Poe kept doing… things with his tongue, indescribable things, and he touched Finn in ways that left him a little breathless to say the least, sliding hands up and down his back, along his front, around his bum. Finn gave encouraging hums whenever he could.

Poe pulled away again, although only to take Finn inside. Closing the balcony door, he led Finn to the bed and made him sit, before he then climbed on top of him, encasing his legs with his thighs and bringing his arse down to rest on the edge of Finn’s knees. He liked the feel of Poe’s body weight pushing down and spread evenly. Poe caressed the sides of Finn’s face but he didn’t kiss him yet. Instead, he just gazed down at him and smiled softly, enjoying this way they could be together.

Finn’s stomach did a pancake flip.

It took him a moment to realise Poe was actually waiting on him for permission or confirmation to continue. Well, Finn happened to be very happy to give Poe all the signs he needed to carry on with what he’d started here. Licking his bottom lip, nervously he slid his hands up Poe’s thighs and, in an act of boldness, didn’t stop until they reached the top of his arse.

Poe noticed this and, after making a small glance behind him, his expression turned to one of pleasant surprise. He finally leaned down and kissed Finn, small and sweet pecks like he’d done back out on the balcony, then moved his mouth directly next to Finn’s ear. ‘Unbutton your shirt,’ he said and Finn snapped to the request like it was something he needed to do or else he would probably stop breathing.

Poe chuckled watching him hurriedly untuck his shirt and fumble to find the exact bottom button. He decided to help him out a little and started at the top, idly flicking open a few buttons. He went slowly and Finn wondered if he did so because he didn’t want Finn to think he was rushing him.

Consequently this meant Finn reached Poe’s hands before he’d barely undone three buttons. Poe made a small noise as their fingers brushed and when Finn looked up he seemed almost embarrassed. But Finn liked the feeling of his fingers against each other and so grabbed Poe’s hands to stop him pulling away. Keeping eye contact, he moved Poe’s hands onto his chest and slid them outwardly, so they pushed his shirt open together. Finn let go when his hands reached too far wide and allowed Poe do the rest. He didn’t stop until the shirt slipped over his shoulders and down his arms.

Once off, Finn balled up the fabric and threw it across the room. He returned his attention to Poe and found him carelessly running his fingers over his now bare collar bone.

‘Seems I’m the one who’s nervous,’ Poe said with a huffy laugh.

Abruptly Finn pulled him into a kiss and pulled back with just enough room to say, ‘don’t be.’ Then the next thing he knew he’d been shoved back onto the mattress behind. ‘Uff!’ he grunted out, along with a playful smile.

Mirroring his smile, Poe’s rough palm moved slowly up Finn’s chest, not stopping until it reached his collar bone again. Delightful tingles under his skin, Finn watched Poe lean down and, like a predator eyeing their prey, run his lips around the space of his belly button. He tensed at the odd sensation but luckily Poe took that as a sign to move further up.

He hummed, sliding his lips up higher and higher. Finn almost couldn’t breathe when he brushed across a nipple and his heartbeat increased tenfold as Poe started swirling his tongue around.

Annoyingly, he chose next to pull away and straighten up. ‘I’m kinda slipping off the bed here, buddy,’ Poe said. ‘Wanna move further up?’

‘Oh,’ _cough_ , ‘sure,’ Finn said and he started to shuffle up backwards.

Poe jumped off the bed completely and, standing there, stripped himself of his shirt, then reaching down for his jeans and Finn decided to join in on that idea.

Fumbling open the button and zip of his own pair, Finn slipped them off eagerly and got so caught up in the tricky task of removing his socks alongside his trousers, he didn’t realise Poe had crawled up the bed next to him. Once finished, he looked over and saw him kneeling there, naked as the day he was born.

Poe’s body seemed to never end, the broad expanse of smooth, bare skin, just waiting to be touched, the parts of him Finn never knew he wanted to see until now, the gathering of dark hairs leading down. And once followed, Finn couldn’t help staring at _everything_ downward. When Poe realised he was, he laughed and glanced away shyly. Finn could have sworn he even blushed.

But the blush didn’t seem to stop him from wrapping a firm hand around himself while his eyes fell closed and he groaned. Finn watched him moving his hand up and down ever so slowly. Poe’s jaw fell open of its own accord. It wasn't necessarily the nudity that had Finn abashed, he'd seen people naked before in the refresher room back at the factory, but the way Poe seemed to be presenting himself just for Finn and his eyes only.

Suddenly not liking the space between them, he grabbed Poe’s arm and dragged him forward on top of him for a filthy kiss. Poe yelped at first and kissed back.

Finn had chosen to keep his boxers on and, so whilst they kissed, Poe’s hands ran very un-casually along the rim and across to the sides of his hips, occasionally pulling it up and letting it ping against his skin in indication he wanted them off. But Finn seemed pretty content right now with just holding Poe like this in his arms for a moment, feeling the full expanse of his smooth back and kissing him sweetly.

Soon something _hard_ began poking him on the thigh and Finn made a noise in confusion. He finally let Poe go to tilt his head up and get a look but instead Poe took the opportunity to slip a hand inside his boxers.

A bolt of something electric rushed through his system as Poe’s fingers came to rest on his shaft. The touch lacked pressure but it was more the intention behind it that got him excited. Finn turned all attention up to Poe’s face and nodded like crazy because he definitely wanted him to move forward with what he was doing there.

Wordlessly Poe wrapped his fingers around and started pumping, like he’d done to himself earlier, whilst he delved down to attack Finn’s neck with his teeth and tongue.

Finn gasped and hugged Poe’s back tighter in support. He could feel himself very quickly get hard as well. Unable to keep still, he squirmed beneath Poe, impatiently thrusting up to meet his strokes that all seemed to stay just too slow and contain not enough friction. It kept him right on the edge and nearly begging more.

Finn knew what it meant to have his body react this way to Poe’s touch. The factory had given extensive classes back when Finn and the other workers were younger. These had told him that what he was doing right now was wrong and he should be ashamed of himself for getting carried away. But the First Order were a disgusting organisation who’d ruined this country and had raised him as an inhuman that’s only purpose in life was to work for corrupt higher powers. So Finn ignored what he’d been taught by them and chose to enjoy this. Enjoy it like he wanted to. It was a hard thing to achieve, but Poe’s encouraging smile helped a lot.

Finn let his name drift out on an exhale. ‘Poe...’

Poe pulled his head back, concerned, but didn’t stop. ‘Yeah?’

Floating, Finn smiled, bringing a hand up to cup his face. ‘I like that.’ He was rewarded with a kiss and used it to hug Poe closer, feeling an excited jolt when one wandering hand managed to come to rest on the top of Poe’s bare arse cheek. He squeezed the pulp flesh and relished in the way that felt.

Eventually, Poe pulled back from his neck, although only to say against Finn’s open mouth, ‘can I replace my hand with my mouth?’

Luscious thrill and excitement gained traction in his system and ran through his body. From their kissing and his chest, Finn knew what Poe could do with his tongue, and the thought of that going on down there, made his length twitch eagerly at the idea. Even though, he had to admit at first thought the concept did sound rather disgusting. Poe rested their foreheads together, giving Finn a moment to think.

‘…You want to do that?’ Finn said.

‘I wanna make you feel good, buddy,’ Poe said, a chuckle in his throat.

Poe wanted him and that seemed enough of an answer on its own. ‘Okay,’ Finn said.

‘Are you sure?’

Finn smiled. ‘I’m sure.’

‘Let me know if you get uncomfortable, okay?’ Poe leaned down once again for a kiss and Finn closed his eyes in anticipation of it, but this time Poe touched his chin, instead of his lips. While keeping up his slow strokes, he then moved lower, kissing Finn’s neck, his chest, down onto his stomach. Only here did he stop and straighten up, eyeing Finn’s boxer shorts explicitly. Finn went to sit up so he could remove them but Poe’s hands were already there.

Finn simply lifted his hips in permission and the last layer of fabric between them was gone. He could see now just how hard he’d become for Poe, his body so eager. The chilly air against his skin left Finn feeling exposed and rather vulnerable, but Poe didn’t let him dwell on it for long; in one swift motion he leaned down and took him into his mouth very unabashedly.

Right now, Finn knew the part of him that was ashamed about this had been forged solely by the First Order. And he focused on that fact. But putting aside how he’d been taught to view something and then embracing said thing when he only knew how to view it under a hood of disgrace were two things easier said than done.

But he wanted to try, regardless.

Resting up on his elbows, he deliberately watched Poe touch him and for the most part it helped. Poe appeared very happy to be performing such a task like this on him, and when Finn reached out a hand and ran it gently through his hair, he even leaned up to the touch and _fucking_ hummed, the vibrations of which did wonders to Finn’s cock. He concentrated on the feeling it gave him, the slide of Poe’s tongue, the never ending wet heat; and let that feeling fill him up and wash over his body. Hanging his head back, he allowed one small moan, used to keeping himself quiet like back in the factory sleeping quarters.

By now, he could also feel an intense buzz beginning to swell in his belly and rested back down against the pillow, silently puffing air through his cheeks while Poe’s technique grew more and more rapid. A breathy moan escaped his mouth suddenly, and he felt himself peek just a little way from the top. He only needed a bit more time to get higher. Almost there.

Then abruptly Poe pulled off all together and the cold breeze hit Finn by surprise.

Lurching upwards, ‘hey, hey don’t stop,’ Finn said before he could control himself. He then blushed after this rude command and added more gently, ‘um, that was nice.’

Poe crawled back up him, wiping his mouth. ‘I have something better in mind,’ he said with a smirk. He then placed a hand firmly on Finn’s chest and pushed him back so he could loom over him. With their faces were only inches apart, he said, ‘normally… I would prefer it the other way around, but let me show you what to do.’

Finn nodded frozen in anticipation and decided, because he could, to run his hands up Poe’s sides. ‘Okay,’ he said.

Abruptly Poe pulled away and leant over the side of the bed, using one hand to pull open the drawers of his bed side table. He made a noise of annoyance and checked the drawers on the other side. But they didn’t appear to have what he was looking for either. ‘I knew they wouldn’t have it,’ he said.

Suddenly he jumped off the bed altogether and, to Finn’s dismay, began putting his clothes back on. Finn didn’t say anything, just watched Poe rush into his jeans and shirt.

However, he only left it at those two pieces of clothing and moved straight back over to the bed to soothe Finn’s worries. ‘I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t have to,’ he said, hand on the side of Finn’s face. ‘I’ll be right back, okay?’ He headed for the door. ‘I know exactly where the lube is in my room.’ With that Poe dashed from the room, bare foot and leaving the door unlocked as Finn had left it prior to his arrival.

Finn acknowledged the silence for a quick second, and then slid his feet under the covers, pulling them up over himself. Partly because it was cold from having his balcony doors open, but mainly because he didn’t like the exposure, even if he were now the only one in the room. He knew what that word meant and so he knew what Poe had gone off to his room to get and what it would be used for. He wanted them to have sex, to _sleep together_ , and with that conclusion Finn’s thrill and excitement returned at full velocity. He tugged the sheets up further around him and listened to his beating heart.

Poe didn’t take long as he promised. His room only being a few doors down the hall, after all. Except this time he returned in a calmer mood, closing the door carefully shut behind him and making his way back over to the bed. Still clothed as he sat down next to Finn’s legs, Poe fiddled around with the bottle of lube in his hands. ‘Finn,’ he said, eyes down. ‘I wanna put… myself inside you. I know it could be considered an odd concept… but I just wanted to check if you’re okay with it. I promise it’ll feel so good and I—’ He glanced up and the next sentence died on his lips when he took note of the way Finn stared at him. ‘…What?’ Poe said.

‘I know what sex is, Poe,’ Finn said, deadpan.

‘You do?’ Poe made a face and then shook his head. ‘I mean… that’s a good thing,’ he added. ‘Makes me feel a little better actually… and makes this one step easier.’

‘Yeah,’ Finn drew his legs up to his waist. He couldn’t look Poe in the eye when he said this bit. ‘We, uh… got taught about it so… we would avoid it.’ Glancing up, he saw a pinch of worry play across Poe’s features.

‘Do you want to avoid this now?’ Poe said, like he would try to accept the answer even though he clearly didn’t want to.

‘No,’ Finn said quickly and he reached out from under the covers to grab Poe’s hand, reassuring. ‘I said I wanted you, Poe, and I meant it.’ His gaze become dark and his voice low, all of a sudden. ‘I uh… want you to _fuck_ me.’

That pleasant surprise reappeared. ‘I can do that,’ Poe said, leaning in. ‘I can definitely do that, if that’s what you want?’ although he kissed him before Finn could answer.

‘It is,’ Finn said, their lips a whisper apart but the matter had obviously already been settled.

‘Okay.’ Poe closed the space between them again. He kissed Finn slow and gentle, one of his hands snaking up to his chest. He slid it over silky skin and let it run down one of Finn’s arms.

Finn made a small whine and grabbed Poe’s clothed shoulders to pull him closer.

Poe pulled back instead and with a grin flung his shirt over his head, before practically ripping his jeans open and shoving them down his legs. Naked again, he clambered back onto the bed and back between Finn’s thighs.

Confidence now grown, Finn watched in building eagerness as Poe gently pulled the sheet away from his legs. He gave Finn’s inner thigh a quick kiss before darting up to his lips to push Finn back against the bed.

It only took a few clumsy grinds against Finn’s hip to get Poe back to being fully hard again, with Finn running his hands over smooth hips.

Poe kissed a sweet trail across his chest.

‘Maybe you should have kept the beard,’ Finn said and bit his lip when Poe peered up at him through thick eyelashes.

In response Poe rubbed his stubble across Finn’s peck until he reached the nearest nipple. Like he’d done with his tongue before, he began to circle his stubbly cheek around that sensitive spot.

Finn giggled at the feel and squirmed underneath him.

Abruptly, though, Poe paused and rested his forehead against Finn, so he couldn’t see his eyes. ‘I just want you to know…’ he said, ‘I was gonna explain it to you, what sex is, and then if you didn’t like the idea, I would have stopped right away, like I promised.’

Finn smiled and ran a hand through Poe’s thick curls. ‘Thank you. But I do like the idea. And I don’t want you to stop, Poe.’

‘I don’t plan to,’ Poe said, golden chuckle in his voice. He kissed the newly sensitive skin for a moment and then leaned back to retrieve the nearly forgotten bottle of lube. The bottle opened with a tiny click and its contents turned out to be runnier than Finn expected. Poe slathered his fore fingers. ‘I’m gonna get you open a bit first,’ he said and his fingers disappeared between Finn’s legs.

Finn couldn’t help jumping at the cold feel as Poe’s fingers slipped into the cleft of his arse. ‘Little cold,’ he said.

‘Sorry! It should warm up soon,’ Poe shifted closer and started to gently circling his hole until Finn grew used to it all and was ready for a finger inside him.

The intrusion felt different from what he’d imagined, but Poe’s straining concentration face drew his attention with more strength. Finn then sighed and leant back on the bed to help will his body into relaxing. Poe worked the finger inside him to the knuckle a few times before adding another, when he then began to curl them upwards, almost like he was searching for something…

‘Ah!’ Finn jumped at the sudden sparkle of pleasure.

‘Good?’ Poe said, looking right at him and smirking.

Finn nodded and his mouth fell open on a smile. ‘Yeah.’

Poe wiggled his fingers again and on the third beat found that spot once more. Finn jumped so much that time his back arched enough to lift his arse right off the sheets.

Finn drifted down from the short pleasant high to the sound of Poe chuckling. ‘Okay… down, boy,’ he said. ‘I promise that’s last one.’

‘Why?’ Finn said, ‘that felt wonderful.’

Poe started to slowly scissor his fingers. ‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘but I don’t want you blowing off too early.’

Finn waited until Poe looked away and returned his gaze to the ceiling. ‘Maybe another time you could get me off with just that,’ he said, feeling the blush spill across his cheeks.

Poe abruptly appeared in his vision, although his fingers did not cease moving. ‘As you wish,’ he said after a kiss. He didn’t lean away. A couple of minutes later, he said, ‘I think you’re ready.’

Finn nodded. Whatever Poe said, he trusted.

Pulling his hand away, Poe took the bottle of lube and spilt some more on his hand. He spread this over himself until it began to dribble off, and put the bottle to one side. He advanced on Finn and they shifted around each other kind of awkwardly.

But Poe’s smile and huffy laugh eased the tension, somewhat. He grabbed hold of Finn’s legs for leverage and said, ‘I’ll go as slow as I can I promise.’

Nodding, Finn watched him exchanged one hand down to his cock to help with guiding inside. Gently he felt Poe circle the tip around his entrance and then Poe moved into him. As promised he went very slow, after a while replacing his hand back on Finn’s leg, slimy to the touch because of the lube. It took good minute to slip fully inside. Poe gave Finn some more time to adjust to the intrusion.

He left go of Finn’s legs and leaned forward over him. Once free, Finn brought his legs up around Poe’s waist and tucked his arms under Poe’s to pull them closer together.

‘You ready?’ Poe whispered.

‘Yeah,’ Finn whispered back.

Poe pulled almost all the way out and then gave an experimentally swirl of his hips, delicious tingles ran up Finn’s spine. Soon, they developed a gentle rhythm moving back and forth against each other. Finn couldn’t stop shuffling his hands about Poe’s back unable to find the right place to put them. In general, he couldn’t keep still, squirming to each exquisite slide of Poe inside him.

Poe didn’t change the pace until Finn gave the all clear he was ready and it didn’t take long to pick up the pace to something more electric.

Sweat gathered on the corners of Finn’s body and hot flushes rushed through him as he and Poe moved together. Poe’s mouth ended up next to his ear, so hot breath tickled his neck while each little moan and gasp from Poe could be heard loud and clear. Although, he didn’t do the same himself, still caught under the weight of embarrassment. Finn gripped his back tighter, letting himself slip further and further towards the edge.

Poe’s hands moved on the bed around him and he suddenly leaned back up. Running a hand through sweat soaked hair, he chuckled in the moment and found a new arousing way to thrust into Finn. ‘You drive me crazy, Finn. You have no idea,’ he said caught up in the lust-filled bliss. ‘Have to touch myself just to stop thinking about you, sometimes. I— ah!’ a particularly strong thrust caused them both to moan.

Finn didn’t need to hear anymore. He yanked Poe down into a kiss. ‘I swear, Dameron, if you don’t shut it and fuck me right now,’ he said.

Poe chuckled against his lips. Picking up the pace, he grabbed both of Finn’s wrists and brought them up to the top of his head.

Confused but compliant, Finn didn’t really understand this act at first but enjoyed the way Poe pinned him down while he pounded into him. Leaning down, they kissed once more and then Poe darted to his neck to bite down on the sensitive skin there.

Finn groaned uncontrollably and arched his back. In response, he squeezed Poe a little tighter between his legs. The bed started to shake with their thrusts. Finn didn’t process properly Poe putting his wrists into one hand and snaking a free hand down to his screaming cock. He jumped at the feeling and nearly sobbed, slamming his mouth shut immediately after, glad the heat already on his face could hide his blush.

But Poe wanted none of that. ‘Yeah that’s it, baby,’ he said between thrusts. ‘Make some noise, I wanna hear you.’ He started to pump his hand lazily in time with his hips.

Gradually Finn let his mouth hang open and let his throat release all the moans Poe was drawing from his body, and very eager to hear by the way. The tension inside him grew traction like before when Poe had had his mouth on him. The buzz gathered in his belly and he struggled against Poe’s gentle wrist hold, swaying his head from side to side.

They both went quiet in unison, suddenly chasing their orgasms. Poe let him go and pumped a little harder. Finn groaned and reached out blindly. He got a fist full of hair and tugged.

Poe groaned. ‘Open your eyes, Finn. I want to see you,’ his voice sounded from above Finn’s head.

Finn opened his eyes and they kissed.

It tipped him over the edge and Finn’s body tensed with the climax, spurting hot white stripes onto his stomach. He gave a pleasurable whimper against Poe’s lips as the waves rushed through him. It felt as though everything he’d been feeling about Poe up until this point suddenly made sense.

A few more thrusts, Poe tensed as well and pulled out of him sharply. A deep groan escaping between gritted teeth as he spurted onto the bed sheets and Finn’s arse cheeks. Once finished, he collapsed onto Finn in a sticky heap of hot limbs and damp skin.

 _Panting_.

Finn laughed and began to fish away the hair stuck to Poe’s face, half slumped against his chest. He prodded his side with a firm finger, ‘hey, I get why you would prefer it the other way around,’ Finn said, breathless.

That made Poe chuckle, huffy and sweet. ‘I do liked to be fucked, I gotta say,’ he said, finding one of Finn’s hands and lacing their fingers together.

Still caught up in post-coital haze, Finn said, boldly, ‘Poe, did you have a crush on Captain Cassian Andor?’

Thankfully he took it the right way. On the instant he heard the question, Poe burst into laughter, squeezing Finn’s hand harder. ‘What gave it away?’ he said, after settling more comfortably on his chest again.

Then a second later he immediately began to climb off of him, ‘shit, sorry, I forgot about your rib,’ Poe said.

‘What? No, it’s fine,’ Finn said as he watched Poe roll into the space on the bed next to him, but not let go of his hand. To be honest, Finn hadn’t felt anything from his ribs in the past few days and that, on cue of Poe’s reminder, he realised he’d forgotten about it almost entirely.

His burn scar, on the other hand, rested under the polar opposite end of his emotional scale. He avoided looking at it most of the time, through using his right arm instead or wearing clothes with longs sleeves such as his shirt and Poe’s jacket or even simply closing his eyes. However, as much as he tried, the broken flesh remained, a reminder of his time inside the First Order factory house.

Abruptly, he became aware of Poe unlocking their hands, lifting his arm, and grabbing hold of Finn’s scarred arm. Like out on the air field, he brought the skin to his lips and kissed it. He then looked across at Finn and smiled. Sometimes Poe did that, as if he seemed to be a never ending stream of affection.

Finn smiled back. He turned his gaze up to the ceiling and sighed. ‘That was amazing,’ he said.

Poe hummed sleepily, twisting to lie on his side and resting an arm under his head. ‘Well that means I did a good job,’ he said and walked his fingers up Finn’s arm in a playful little way.

‘I love you.’ He felt more than saw Poe tense beside him. And when Finn finally dared to glance over at him, Poe appeared, out of all the things he expected, rather unbelieving. ‘I mean it,’ Finn said in an instant, rolling over to mirror Poe’s position on the bed. ‘I do. Not everything makes a lot of sense right now but this one thing does and it’s that I love you, Poe Dameron, with all my heart.’ The words didn’t need dressing up or anything special, he said them the way they were, simple and true. At Poe’s silence, Finn began to falter, however. ‘Just thought you should know—’ he added quickly.

Poe leaned towards Finn until he stopped talking and then kissed him. Pulling away, he made a small contented sound right at the back of his throat. ‘I love you too, Finn,’ he said. ‘So much. But… I thought you might not understand love, even if you did feel the same way about me.’

‘ _Even though I do_ ,’ Finn couldn’t help but correct. He exhaled through his nose and rolled onto his back again. ‘And you’re right, I didn’t understand what I was feeling,’ he said to the ceiling with a hand on his bare stomach. It felt rather sticky so he retrieved a dry part of the sheet to rub it clean. ‘But I had a talk with Jessika, Maz, and Karé, and they seemed to help clear things up for me.’

‘That’s good,’ Poe said. He sat up and Finn thought for a second he was reaching for the covers to warm them up, until Poe’s lack of movement afterwards caught his attention. ‘Look, Finn,’ Poe said, sober. ‘This road you’re heading down… it won’t be easy, I can tell you that. However, you don’t have to go down it alone. I want to be here for you.’

Finn leaned up to join him. ‘And I for you, Poe,’ Finn said, although he wanted to, he didn’t extend out a hand to touch him. ‘ _Please_ , I can tell there's something eating you up inside.’

Poe turned his head in the other direction. ‘Finn, I can’t,’ he said, his voice quiet.

‘But you can, Poe,’ Finn said. He drew his knees up to his chin. ‘I’m right here.’

‘I can’t tell you. I don’t want to,’ Poe’s voice grew so low and soft Finn had to strain to hear him. ‘It would hurt you.’

He regarded Poe for a second and knew he perhaps needed to give up the fight over this for now. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Well… you don’t have to tell me now, but I’m here when you want to.’

‘I don’t want to tell you ever, Finn,’ and Poe said those words so matter of fact, Finn let the conversation die immediately then.

He sighed and laid back against the bed. After awhile, Finn looked over to Poe, who was still leant over himself, tense and possibly upset but hopefully not with him. Finn wouldn’t accept it if he was, because he’d done nothing wrong, but this situation disrupted him nonetheless. He didn’t want to see the man he loved upset or feel like he was unable to tell Finn certain things. And yet he needed to respect his space and privacy, if Poe felt he could not tell Finn this problem then that was so. Eventually, Finn extended a hand and ran down the smooth expanse of Poe’s golden back. ‘Poe,’ he crooned. ‘Poe, come here.’

‘Why?’ But he could hear the reluctant smile in Poe’s voice long before he swirled his head around towards him.

‘I wanna hold you,’ Finn said and smiled, willing Poe into his arms.

‘Okay.’ Although still tense, Poe did lean back onto him, rolling over to plaster himself against Finn’s side. After a bit, ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, breath now tickling Finn’s skin.

‘It’s fine; I know it’s not your fault,’ Finn said and he stroked a hand up Poe’s back. He enjoyed this way he could touch Poe now and celebrated it by hugging him closer, content.

Poe shuffled his feet about and somehow flung the covers up to his hand, then pulled it up over them both. He kissed Finn’s chest and Finn responded with a kiss to the top of Poe’s head.

They smiled at each other and in no time at all drifted off to sleep.

When Finn awoke the sky was still dark and moonlight shone in through his open balcony door curtains. He didn’t really know what time they had went to sleep so he couldn’t be sure what time it would be now. That was something to get for his room, a clock. Poe still lay snuggled against his side and breathing in a calm manner because of his sleeping lungs. Very carefully Finn unpeeled him from his body and sat on the edge of the bed. He ran a hand over his face and glanced behind him. Somehow, Poe remained asleep.

Finn got up and stretched involuntarily. With a yawn as well, he made his way over to the balcony doors. The moon looked beautiful, one quarter full, in the pure onyx sky. Slowly he swung the balcony door open and stepped out into the chilly air outside. He spotted their discarded cups on the floor, Poe’s still lying on its side; he picked it up and put it down upright next to his own. Despite being just as naked as when he and Poe had been making love hours or so before, outside Finn didn’t feel wary or even exposed, which was strange for in fact he only ever felt this way in his dreams. A grin spread across his face. Here, he basked in the moonlight and felt so private, almost invisible to be truthful; something he had never would have felt under the supervision of the First Order with their cameras around every corner. He closed his eyes and revelled in this freedom.

That was until Poe’s drowsy voice called to him from back inside the room. ‘Finn..! What are you doing? Come back to bed, you’re letting the cold in, buddy.’

Finn grinned, happy and in love in a way he never believed he would be. He tip-toed back inside and slid the door shut behind, closing the curtains this time. ‘Sorry,’ he said and made his way back over to the bed.

Poe grumbled something along the line of _wanting to catch his death other there or what huh?_ and Finn only hugged him tighter, which may or may not have been partly due to him trying to steal Poe’s warmth. The man squeaked as Finn shoved his freezing feet against his calves and threw Finn a scolding look.

But Finn gazed back with utter adoration and got a small kiss before they settled back down for sleep again.

‘I’m glad I met you, Poe Dameron,’ he said to the darkness across the room.

‘Me too, Finn buddy,’ Poe said and sighed, probably a smile on his lips. ‘Me too.’

‘Or else there would be no one right now to warm me up—’ He _almost_ finished that sentence without bursting into giggles.

Poe smacked over the head with a pillow.

¬

Rey lost track of when she stopped wanting to get back to Jakku. Especially since it took her two whole weeks of living in D’Qar to even realise it and start processing this query. Perhaps that since she’d been so caught up with BB-8 and Poe’s mission and all these new people in her life, like Finn and Leia and Han, she never got the chance to take a step back for a second and fully comprehend where she was or why she was doing what she’d been doing. The mere recognition that it had only been three days from her discovering Finn in her room to them returning to Maz’s safe house carrying Han’s corpse took her awhile to understand.

She didn’t think of herself capable of falling in love so quickly.

They buried him at D’Qar, bringing him home after so many years away. The first and only funeral Rey had ever been to, not knowing anyone else back at Jakku enough to ever get that far with them. She spotted Leia soberly crying, alongside the other Resistance members, although she failed to find Poe amongst them. When it finished and they were alone in a quiet space, Rey told Finn how she envisioned her own funeral and that, if she never found her family again in the end, it scared her to think about no one being there to properly bury her body.

This had been when she remembered Jakku again.

And what surprised her the most was that it didn’t bother her. In truth, she did not need to get back there anymore. Her body had finally embraced the warmth and safety surrounding her; it had finally accepted a different family into her heart than the one she’d been waiting for so rigidly. A cheeky cat with a mind of their own, this golden boy with a heart like the Sun who’d catapulted his way into her life, and an odd new friend in the shape of a large, hairy man to name a few.

Then there was General Leia Organa, unlike any other woman Rey had ever encountered. It turned out the terrifying, evil creature of a man she’d fought back in the city had been Leia’s son, which meant he was the one who killed Han. Rey knew the instant she was told that it had been Leia’s sorrow she’d felt through the Force back then. Leia felt her own son kill her husband and yet she still got up every day and wanted to fight back, stronger than ever. What a woman.

Although Rey didn’t need to be told, to know there was more to the picture in the times unseen. However, to hold such a face and demeanour in public after what she’d been through was certainly a feet in its own.

Rey tried to think of anything she'd been through that could compare. Perhaps when Finn left back at Maz's safe house, reminding her of how everyone always left in the end, how she seemed destined to be alone, ever waiting for a lost family to find her again? But this time had been different; Finn had returned. And that’s all she ever wanted from anyone, for them to come back for her and give her a reason to remain. Compared to a life time of waiting, they'd barely known each other for a couple of seconds and yet it didn't matter. His simple act had unlocked her from these self-formed chains. She was free now to discover a life of her own.

The purpose of the newly reformed Resistance seemed to diminish after Han’s burial. Then out of the blue, R2-D2 managed to reanimate himself again and, on one particularly eventful night, led a confused – yet happy to be reunited with his old friend, nonetheless – C-3PO and Leia to the location of a map, which contained directions to the secret base Luke Skywalker had stated he was currently hiding out at, along with a few drops of blood. Leia had been split from him for almost two years now, she hoped this meant the drops were deliberate. She mentioned Luke used heavy code, on the very few times he did communicate to the Resistance; so the First Order wouldn’t be able to find him, if they perchance discovered him to be still alive. Luke had referred to his location only by the system library number and no one ever bothered enough to learn these in proper connection to the corresponding maps. Although being a blood hound after all, searching things out should have been considered R2’s speciality, one could presume.

This concept became a difficult mouthful to swallow, when Rey had been told the next morning. Because of the code, in the end it turned the Resistance only really knew he _was_ alive and nothing else. She just presumed he would be hiding out in D’Qar, when they got here.

Rey volunteered to go, and consequently Leia agreed the team to seek out her Brother would be her, Chewie and R2-D2 in the Millennium Falcon.

Chewie didn’t need asking twice to continue showing her the ways of the Falcon, as previously promised. Now apparently back to his old self, R2-D2 never left their side. He would curl up underneath Finn’s propped up feet, whenever he chose to read at the back of the double-decker, during Rey’s persistent lessons.

After awhile, she noted Poe would occasionally join him and from her good knowledge of body language, she knew what it meant by how they acted around each other. Finn could really make Poe smile, and it only added to the warmth in her heart to be surrounded by such a family. Sometimes Chewie would roar and catch them off guard enough to get them shout to attention, making R2-D2 jump awake softly and BB-8 screech from wherever they were perched. Sometimes Rey would laugh until her sides ached, the look of shock on their faces too much to handle.

Even though technically its purpose acted towards nothing now, Rey still put her hair up the same way: three buns down the back of her head and two little stringy bits at the side. The first week here, Maz introduced her to the clothes shops around D’Qar and Rey picked out a nice new jacket and a holster, for the blaster Han had given her before their factory mission. She kept parts of her old attire, however, like the shirt and cream trousers because they held sentimental value; Rey was proud of the clothes she'd managed to make herself, plus they still had a few years left in them yet.

Food became her favourite thing of the day. Growing up on Unkar Plutt’s pitiful excuse for food rations meant she never knew how many other flavours there were in this world besides meaty, bread, and green. Each day turned into a new discovery of tastes. The Resistance grew an orchard that contained apples and pears so sweet Rey had to pull a face when eating them; on weekends, the different chefs of the area could produce soups somehow in all the colours of a bubble rainbow and in the right order; if Rey possessed the time and the patience, she would sit on the kitchen counter and watch the bakers create several loafs in different shapes and sizes and all so much better tasting than her instant bread from back Jakku. D’Qar seemed to be a never ending stream of exciting and interesting new meals.

When food or driving didn’t take up her time, Rey trained in the arts of blaster use with Finn. Karé and Jessika would have them practise aiming at tin cans at a number of distances, before Poe and Iolo took them onto moving targets. Finn and Rey weren’t the only ones who were training, taking part inside a whole class of other new Resistance members, but they always made sure to train together. Afterwards the whole group of them would go for lunch together. Poe and Finn would sit together and hold hands under the table, Rey spotted; they reminded her of Chewie and Maz. Often, Maz would come visit when Chewie was teaching Rey in the Falcon, give him a kiss and them both a bowl of something hot and tasty.

But like all things great, her time in D’Qar would soon come to an end and, of course, this end came closer than she wanted it to.

The day of their departure left Rey feeling immensely nervous. Chewie had parked the Falcon out under the shadow of the living quarters building, allowing for a large crowd to gather between here and there. Everyone wanted to say goodbye to those of them going off on a search for old hope.

So Rey sat on her bed, fully packed and dressed, fiddling with the stray frays on her backpack as she watched the crowd from her bedroom window.

A gentle rap of knocks sounded from across the room and she looked over to find Karé standing by the open door. ‘Hey, kid,’ she said, donned in her orange flight suit, blonde hair stuck up with wax in her usual short style, ‘you ready to go?’

Rey nodded and stood up. ‘Yeah, just… coming…’ her eyes couldn’t help but drift back to the crowd outside and the attention storm that ought to come with it.

‘You’ll be back,’ Karé said abruptly.

‘What?’ Rey steadied herself, slinging her staff firmly over her shoulder, and walked to join Karé by the door.

‘You don’t have to worry about leaving so much,’ Karé said and her tone was one of reassurance, ‘because you’ll be back one day.’ When they reached each other, she put an encouraging hand on Rey’s shoulder and winked. ‘We’re not done with you yet, Rey.’

Rey couldn’t stop the smile on her face. ‘Yeah, can’t get rid of me that easily,’ she said back, trying to hide the blush now painting her cheeks. She didn’t know how such an action like that got this reaction from her, but it still felt nice, regardless. Thankfully Karé chose to walk with Rey down to the Falcon, although that had possibly been why she showed up in the first place. The heat on Rey’s cheeks increased slightly.

Some way down the set of second floor stairs, Rey said, ‘how old were you when you joined the Resistance, if you don’t mind me asking?’ to pass the time.

‘I joined with Poe, actually,’ Karé said. ‘After he disobeyed orders and reported that attack on the Jedi school, he took me, Iolo, and Muran with him. So not too young, if that’s what you’re thinking.’ Karé looked at Rey directly and her eyes grew serious, ‘certainly not as young as you. You’re very brave for what you’re doing. Both you and Finn are.’

Rey put her head down. ‘I don’t feel it, sometimes.’

But Karé gently bumped Rey’s shoulder with her own. ‘You will, trust me, kid. It’ll come,’ she said.

‘What was Muran like?’ Rey asked next with only two sets of stairs left to go.

Karé jumped slightly at the name but continued to speak despite that, ‘he was a big stickler for the rules that’s for sure,’ she said. They walked the next couple of steps in silence, while Karé slowly began remembering, ‘that’s the funny thing, though, he was the easiest one for Poe to convince in the end. Maybe that’s what led to his… death.’

Rey didn’t ask any more questions.

As they reached the bottom of stairs and walked out onto the yard outside, Karé gave Rey a pat on shoulder in farewell. ‘See you around, Rey,’ she said.

‘Yeah, see you soon, Karé,’ Rey said and watched her disappear off into the corner with Iolo and Jessika in. She turned her eyes back to the bigger part of the crowd, searching. After a few seconds, she spotted him. ‘Finn!’ Rey called and she ran over.

Reaching him, ‘hey,’ she said.

‘Hey,’ Finn said, beaming. His eyes flew up and down her outfit in surprise; he’d seen the jacket before – Rey practically never took it off – but not the holster and her hair had been washed and put up especially for this day, staff slung in perfect fashion across her shoulder. ‘You look great. I think Luke will be proud to have a Resistance member like you.’

‘I have a feeling he already is,’ Poe’s head popped up behind Finn’s shoulder and he slung an arm around Finn’s waist as he joined in on the conversation.

‘Hey, Poe,’ Rey said.

‘Hello, Rey,’ Poe said with a smile in her direction. Compared to that time he cried on the Falcon, his manner appeared cleaner, and not just because of his shaven beard, if anything he looked like someone reaping the benefits of a steady recovery. ‘Good luck with your journey,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry about Finn while you’re gone, I’ll make sure to watch his back.’ He squeezed Finn towards him and kissed him on the cheek.

Rey giggled at Finn’s soft embarrassment. ‘I wouldn’t doubt it for second,’ she said before a large orange and white shape leapt into her vertical lap. Quickly Rey swept BB-8 up into her arms to stop them from tumbling down to the floor and clawing her clothes out of fear in the process. ‘Bye bye, BB-8,’ she said and swung them side to side in joy.

As predicted, BB-8 disliked this fervently, and wiggled and squirmed in Rey’s grip to get out of her arms. They slipped up onto her shoulders and refused to move, curling a tail around the front of Rey’s neck.

Eventually Poe had to reach out and pluck them free. ‘Go kick some First Order arse, kid,’ he said, before receiving the same treatment from BB-8.

Finn laughed and looked back to Rey. This time she waited for his confirmation before leaping up onto his chest for a hug. She wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders and he did so as well with her back and waist. ‘I’m gonna miss you so much,’ Finn whispered near her ear.

Rey grinned but couldn’t help feeling sad. ‘I’ll miss you too, Finn,’ she whispered back. After a long minute, they let go of each other and she dropped back down onto the ground again. ‘But we’ll see each other again, I believe that,’ Rey said with determination. ‘Thank you for everything, my friend.’

‘Thank you as well,’ Finn said just as determined. Rey struggled to control her reach of the Force, his happiness felt like infinity and it soothed her worries. ‘I don’t know where I would be without you.’ He took Poe’s hand. ‘Both of you.’

Poe threw him a small smile. But he gave Rey one as well. ‘Goodbye, Rey,’ he said, one hand in Finn’s and the other arm curled around BB-8, now licking his face.

‘Goodbye, Poe,’ Rey replied and, as she walked off, waved them one final goodbye.

She nearly bumped into the next person she wanted to talk to, although it wouldn’t have been for the first time. ‘General Leia,’ Rey said to Leia’s back.

Leia turned around practically frantic for a nanosecond like that of a concerned Mother. ‘Rey,’ she said calmly and a smile burst across her face. She raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you all packed and ready to go?’

‘I think so,’ Rey said, nodding.

‘Good, good.’ Leia touched her arm, but her affection seemed to reach further than the physical, yet neither of them minded. ‘I think Luke is ready for someone like you. I can feel it.’

‘Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,’ Rey said because she simply had to.

Leia smiled anew. ‘You’re welcome. But the pleasure’s all mine, my child.’

However, abruptly, the person next to Leia leaned in closely and took over her ear for a moment.

Rey waited, awkwardness rising, while they spoke for a good few seconds. Eventually, ‘I’ll get going then,’ Rey said and began to walk away after Leia gave her a curt nod.

But, she barely got anywhere before Leia called out, ‘oh and Rey!’

She turned to face her.

‘May the Force be with you,’ Leia said.

That sentence instantly warmed any remaining last pieces of frost inside her. Gently, Rey smiled. But they only shared a few more moments, then Leia merged into the group of Resistance members around her and Rey completed her journey towards the Falcon.

Chewie stood by the newly fixed door, waiting. ‘After you, co-pilot,’ he said and threw a hand inside.

‘Thank you, co-pilot,’ Rey said, a smile on her face once more. She’d lost count of how many times she’d done that today, despite the situation occurring: she was leaving to find Luke and the answers he had with him.

Rey found R2-D2 inside, curled up in a ball at his usual spot, resting his old bones. She ran a careful hand over his bony, white and blue head. But unlike when they first met, R2 leaned up into her fingers this time. ‘You make yourself comfortable, R2,’ she said.

Chewie passed behind her and moved up to take his seat in the driver’s cubicle. They’d agreed he would take the first drive. Walking over to the corner, Rey swung off her bag and staff and placed them down securely.

Chewie started the engine and that caught the attention of the crowd outside. Rey stood by the main window and searched out Finn one last time. Thankfully, they found each other and waved again. When Chewie brought the Falcon around, Rey ran to the back of the double-decker so she could still see him. She chose to remain there in that spot for awhile, long after Finn and even D’Qar were out of sight.

The road became calm very early on. Rey moved about the bus, whenever her muscles grew tired of their current position, to watch the world go by and the Sun set in the distance. They stopped for a brief moment somewhere for lunch so they could both eat together.

At nightfall, they did as per-agreed and swapped places. However, Chewie stayed in the passenger seat for awhile after. Even though Rey felt she didn’t need the observation any longer, her driving skills very much up to scratch, she appreciated the comfort nonetheless. The bloodstained map to Skywalker had been propped up against the window on top the dashboard and a second pair of eyes did make it easier to read while driving.

Her and Chewie talked about subjects of no particular importance. This fact became apparent when Rey soon realised Chewie had fallen asleep in the seat beside her.

With R2 still in his spot from before probably asleep too, now it was just her and the road.

Silence.

Rey almost couldn’t believe her ears. Not in a million years of living in Jakku would she ever have thought she’d get to listen to a silence quite like this. It was so soft, brushing past her ears like feathers and calming her soul. The dark blue sky and twinkling stars only added to the affect. The moon beamed down, full and strong, illuminating the path before her in different shades of blue and navy. For the first time in a long time, she could truly just be with her thoughts. This freedom couldn’t be real. In fact, she was sure she only ever felt this way in her dreams, so concluded for a second this must be one now. But she didn’t need the Force to tell her that wasn’t true. Once again for the millionth time that day, Rey grinned. She readjusted her grip around the Falcon’s large steering wheel and sighed as their journey to Luke Skywalker grew ever shorter and shorter.

A journey to a new hope, she told herself, where hopefully she would find something or someone who could bring them one step closer to ending this dreadful tyrannical reign over their country.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's done, fuck me...  
> Maybe it'll kick in tomorrow or something ???  
>  ~~I'm gonna put an extra chapter with all the real life references and research I did, just for the funs lol :3~~
> 
> Rest in peace, Carrie Fisher. I miss you a lot.

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me your thoughts or leave some lovely words of encouragement, either would be very much appreciated :) You guys help a lot :3
> 
> I love FinnRey fans, I really do. Your ship is just so canonically set-up and healthy and gah! I would ship that shit if I didn’t headcanon Rey as ace/aro. Therefore, I wanted to tell any FinnRey fans who are reading my fic that I’m not trying to ignore or insult the romantic elements of your ship here. In my fic Rey is 15 and Finn is 19. So it would be that annoying type of paedophilia for him to fancy her, where, like, why can’t guys just date women the same fucking age as them?! That is not to say, he couldn’t start to fancy her when she comes of age. Also, genuinely please do not think that I made them younger for the sole purpose of turning the concept of Finn fancying Rey paedophilic (I actually did it just to make Poe younger, oops!).  
> TL;DR: FinnRey fans, I love you and don’t want to wish you harm, and your ship is what we desperately need in the fight against Reylo.  
> And to any Reylo fans (still) reading this, please try to realise that YOU DESERVE RESPECT FROM MEN, it doesn’t matter Adam Driver is your type or not, you deserve to be treated better than the way Kylo treats Rey in tfa. But also please do something about that internalised racism.
> 
> You know, I found a post once where the OP made Bucky ship Reylo. Like, not in a million FUCKING years would Bucky ever ship Reylo. Lol. This is a man who was captured and tortured by HYDRA for 70 years, no way in hell would he ship that entitled, asswipe abuser with a considerate and independent woman like Rey, no fucking way. Like, you come into my house, you write about my son, you think he’d ship your bullshit abusive ship, you insult my driving... As the Sand Guardian said to Poseidon: Fuck off! No, Bucky would totally love Poe, cos I see him as smitten for Steve in a similar way to how Poe is smitten for Finn.
> 
> Come find me on [tumblr](http://yellowhalcyon.tumblr.com/)


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